


Unexpected Families

by every_fandom_ever



Category: Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Avengers Family, Bucky Barnes Recovering, Bucky helps Peter, Domestic Avengers, Everyone cares about Peter, F/M, Good Peter, Graphic Description, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Past Child Abuse, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Precious Peter Parker, Protective Bucky Barnes, Suicide Attempt, bucky and peter are friends, but no one knows he's Spider-man
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-01
Updated: 2018-07-27
Packaged: 2019-04-30 13:20:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 38
Words: 49,503
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14497851
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/every_fandom_ever/pseuds/every_fandom_ever
Summary: all the Avengers live togetherBucky makes a new friend, that means the Avengers make a new friendIt's just no one knows he's Spider-man...and maybe some other important things-currently being edited - ON: chap. 22-





	1. beginning

**Author's Note:**

> oof, it's late and I'm tired, enjoy
> 
>  
> 
> Twitter: ever_fandom  
> Tumblr: everyfandomever1979

Bucky never really liked going outside. Maybe if he lived somewhere else, but not in the dead center of a giant city, living in fucking Stark Tower; he was set on staying indoors. Every once in a while, Bucky would go on a late night walk to a small coffee shop down the street and sit for a bit. It was calming and they actually had pretty good coffee.

It was four thirty on a Tuesday morning when Bucky decided he needed to get out. The past couple of days had been stressful and he had been trying to sleep for almost two hours already. He got out of bed, throwing on joggers and grabbing his usual blue hoodie. He grabbed a random book before heading out, not bothering to check what it was. Bucky told Jarvis he’d be back later and pretty much ran into the elevator.

There was a light drizzle outside, just enough to where the streets were close to empty. Bucky decided to walk there, keeping his hood up and shoulders hunched as he dodged the small groups of early morning runners. By the time Bucky got there, it was just about five. He was grateful that the place was open twenty-four hours as he found a small chair and table available by the window, tucked in the corner. The only other person was some kid hunched over a laptop, typing furiously. He ordered a small black coffee at the front and went back to his seat, pulling out  _The Wizard of Oz_.

“Pete, you should really go,” He could see them in the corner of his eye. The lady from the counter was standing next to the kid, hands on her hips and a soft smile on her face. 

“Not yet, just give me one more hour-”

“You know I would, but if you’re not gonna buy anything, I can't."

“Please Ms. Larson,” Bucky couldn’t help but listen to the conversation. The more he heard, the more he noticed how young the guy sounded. He knew he shouldn’t intervene, but the kid sounded so desperate. 

Bucky would like to think that he went over to get the kid to shut up when he tossed the ten on the counter, telling the kid to get whatever he wanted. Seeing his face made Bucky's heart melt.

He was bundled up in an oversized sweatshirt, curly brown hair covering his forehead, but his deep brown eyes still peeked through. Within the couple of seconds that they had been staring at each other, Bucky decided to sit in the chair across from him, sipping on his coffee and holding his book.

“You don’t have to sir-”

“It doesn’t matter. Just sounded like you could use it,” Doe eyes widened and looked down; he asked for a small hot chocolate. The lady smiled and went back behind the counter. “Thanks, I don’t have any connection at my house...s-so I usually come down here before school,”

“It’s fine, kid.”

“My name’s Peter,” Bucky studied his face for a moment, “James, but I go by Bucky.” Something flashed in Peter’s eyes, but it was gone before Bucky could decipher it. When the hot chocolate came, Peter quietly sipped at it, glancing back and forth between his computer and Bucky. Bucky tried going back to reading his book, but he could feel the stress radiating off of Peter.

“What are you working on?” Bucky asked him without looking up.

“Oh, it’s just this essay I have for science. We had to pick out a scientist and write about something they discovered or worked on. I went with Dr. Banner ‘cause his stuff is like, amazing, and his studies on gamma radiation just _awesome_  and-” the boy cut himself off, “Sorry if I’m rambling.”

“It’s fine. You seem really into that kinda thing...science stuff.”

“Yeah, My dad was a scientist, my uncle was too. I kinda grew up with it. I go to Midtown so…”

“Midtown?”

“Midtown school of Science and Technology. Smart people school in Queens,”

“You go all the way to Queens every day?” Bucky was a bit concerned, to say the least; the ride from Manhattan to Queens was an hour at least.

“I just take the subway, I’m used to it.” Bucky nodded and closed the book. Peter looked up at him suddenly. “If you don’t mind me asking, what is your arm made of?” Bucky’s immediate reaction was to move his arm further into his side.

“You don’t have to tell me, I just noticed it when you came over. It looks pretty badass though,” against almost all of his instincts, he lifted his left arm onto the table, pulling the sleeve up just to his elbow. Peter closed his laptop and moved it to the side, gently running over a finger over the cool metal on his wrist. 

For just meeting this kid, Bucky knew that he really shouldn’t do any of what he was doing at the moment. He had no idea who Peter really was, where he came from, or anything. But, even after all that,  something happened inside his chest every time Peter looked at him. It was like a wave hit him square in the chest, something like...protectiveness, something a parent would have, not a total stranger. Bucky couldn’t remember ever feeling like this with anyone...ever.

They continued to talk about Bucky’s arm and Peter’s school work until almost seven. Peter shoved his laptop and all his papers into the grey backpack at his feet. “I gotta go to school, but thanks for buying the drink and just, uh, talking with me.”

“No problem kid, it was nice.” Bucky stood up and was about to walk away when something caught his eye.

If he had looked just a second later, Bucky would have never caught it. Bruises. Dark, black, blue, and yellow tinted bruises, what looked like a couple of old and new cuts. Peter's sleeve had caught on the table when he had stood up and moved just enough so Bucky could see, but it had slid back down a second later. The decision had been quick, not exactly well thought through, but Bucky had to do it after that.

“Wait. Here,” he grabbed the receipt from earlier and scribbled down the number to his personal cell. Only Steve, Sam, and Jarvis had the number, “If you ever need anything, even if it’s just to talk, you can call or text. I’m never really busy, ever.” Peter grabbed it slowly, sticking it in his pocket and smiling at Bucky.

“Thanks, see you later Bucky!” The soldier gave him a small wave as he watched the kid ran out, throwing his bag over his shoulder.

 _God, I am_ way  _too into this..._


	2. Time for school, Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> enjoy a clumsy Peter (who hides things), a helpful Bucky, and inconvenient timing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> get ready for part 2!

The next time Bucky saw Peter was only two days later. Of course, he didn’t expect the kid to call him right away, but he was almost glad when he walked right into Peter on the street. He was carrying at least four boxes, two balanced in each arm. 

“Oh, sorry,” he adjusted the boxes higher against his chest, “Hi Bucky!”

“Hey, you good for here kid?”

“Yeah, just taking these to school.”

“The school in Queens?”

“Yep!”

“Here,” Before Peter could protest, Bucky had already taken two of the boxes. Insides were different mechanical parts for something. It looked like everything from a car to what could have been a blender. There were also papers and notebooks sticking out.

“You don't have to, I got it-”

“It'd take you longer and I got nothing going on. We should go though, don't want you to miss the subway” Peter flushed, which he did often, and nodded, leading the way to the station, “Aren't you supposed to be in school right now?”

“There are conferences today, but I got this new project in engineering and I wanted to bring in everything now so I asked my teacher and he said yeah.” Bucky ignored the noise around himself, focusing on Peters rant.

When they first talked, he never really realized how much Peter could ramble. Bucky didn't even notice how relaxed he was during the ride. Bucky could barely stay in a car for longer than ten minutes, but he found that he didn't care when Peter was telling him about almost blowing up a classroom. By the time they got to Queens, Bucky had barely gotten a word in and he didn't care at all.

The school itself was huge. The logo plastered on the side and giant, blue doors right in front. Peter led him through the long halls, greeting teachers and parents that passed. They arrived in a large lab, some of the tables already covered in boxes and different parts. All the walls were white, but the space was covered in posters, shelves of equipment, and past assignments.

“Mr. Parker!” A tall, thin man walked through the door on the other side of the room. He assumed it was the teacher, having seen what must've been a family photo on the desk.

“Hi, Mr. Warren! I’ll be out soon, just dropping off the parts.”

“That’s fine Peter,” He looked over at Bucky who was standing a few feet back, boxes still in hand. “And who are you?”

“James Barnes. I’m...a friend.”

“Aah, I’ve heard a bit about you. You’re here for Peter?”

“Just helping when I can,” Peter simply ignored the two and pulled everything out, taking the boxes from Bucky’s arms. Bucky watched as he organized everything fairly quickly on a counter in the back.

“He’s top of his class, you know,”

“Really?”

“Peter’s a great student and a quick learner. He’s gone a bit more than I’d like but never seems to get behind on his work.”

“Gone?”

“Both absent and late." He leaned in closer to Bucky's ear as to not let Peter overhear "Sometimes, I’ll see these bruises, but I can’t tell what they’re from. I know I’m just a science teacher, but try to keep an eye on him for me.”

“Yes Sir,” he smiled and went to help Peter who was now flattening the boxes down.

Yes, Bucky was getting way too close to a random kid. Yes, he probably shouldn’t have given the kid his number. No, he doesn’t need to be there. He had adult friends he could talk to. But for some reason, this kid seemed more important than a random on the street.

“Yep, I’m all good Mr. Warren. Thank you for helping me,”

“No problem Peter, have a good day.” With the boxes now condensed, they walked back out, Mr. Warren going the opposite direction. As they made it out of the building, he noticed that Peter was nervous, fingers twitching and tapping the cardboard. 

“You ok Peter?”

“Yeah……I have a question, though.”

“Go ahead.”

“You’re...like, technically an Avenger, right?” Bucky chose not to ask how long he’d known or how he had found out; no one ever recognized him from the Avengers.

“Technically, yes.”

“Then...why are you here?” Confused, Bucky looked over at him, hoping for an explanation. Peter looked down again, not meeting Bucky's eyes. “Well, you could be hanging out with the other Avengers! You could be with friends, adults! But you’re here! I’m just some...some random kid, you barely know anything about me so...just, why hang out with me?” Peter’s face was flushed both from yelling and nerves. He could see why the boy would want to know, but to be honest, he didn’t really know himself.

“I don’t know, honestly. Talking with you is better than awkwardly reading alone while everyone else is busy, it's good for me to get out and all. Plus, you’re pretty good company Peter-” Suddenly, someone slammed into Peter. It wasn't unusual, being in New York, but the guy had managed to completely knock the kid to the ground, and just kept walking. The boxes fell out of his arms as he caught himself, though not fast enough.

“Shit-” There was already a nasty bruise forming on Peter's wrist where he landed on it wrong.

“You ok Peter?” Bucky knelt down, gently grabbing Peters hand. He tried moving it around a bit, stopping when Peter let out a sharp hiss.

“I'm fine.” Of course Stark would call now. He knew it was Stark by the ringtone he set, but he only called if something was wrong.

“ _Hey Barnes, situation by the tower! Where the hell are you?”_ Looking towards the Tower, even with how far he was, Bucky could see the fighting.

“I'm in Queens.”

“ _Fuckin- Ok, whatever, get to a rooftop and I'll send the Quinjet over."_ the call disconnected. Bucky stood up, pulling Peter as well, and looked for the nearest rooftop that was big enough for the jet.

“What's going on?” Peter asked.

“Situation back in Manhattan.”

“What?!” Bucky could feel the boy practically shaking next to him.

“Stark is sending the jet over.”

“Then I'm coming with!” Bucky stopped and turned around, staring at Peter; the boxes tucked tightly under his arm and a determined look on his face. He already knew that the kid wouldn't let up.

“Fine, but you will sit in the jet, and don't touch anything. You will not be fighting, I'll take you back to Queens. You'll wait there until someone says it's safe to go out.” Bucky could see Peter was about to fight back, but Bucky shut him up with one glare. He led the way up the fire escape on the nearest apartment building. In less than a minute, Peter was in the jet and sitting on one of the cots under the watchful eye of Jarvis. The flattened boxes were pushed under the cot, along with Peter's backpack.

“Uh, Jarvis?”

“Yes, Mr. Parker?”

“Where did Bucky go?” The man left to another room as soon as Peter had sat down.

“Sergeant Barnes is currently changing into his gear. Is there something you need?”

“I’m fine, just making sure.” Bucky walked back over and into the cockpit. He was decked out in all black leather gear, completely exposing his metal arm, with black pants and combat boots. He had a belt hanging loosely around his waist, decorated with knives and guns. Strapped to his back was an M4A1, the same one he’d seen Bucky use before, though Peter wouldn’t say that out loud. “Woah,” Peter said aloud.

“Sorry, about this,” He motioned to his outfit. “Kinda just the uniform.”

“It’s fine. Seen worse...” Bucky nodded and sat down, listening to something in his ear. He scrolled through a hologram on console and typed something in before relaxing and staring out the window.

_Spider-Man could do something_ , Peter thought to himself. He couldn’t exactly just tell Bucky at this point. The guy would probably freak out, definitely not talk to Peter ever again. He’d probably try and convince Peter to let go of the 'being a superhero phase', but if there really was a situation, then he had to go help.

“I know what you’re thinking, and no, you are not fighting. Stay home and stay away from the fight. I don’t wanna see even a flash of you, got it?”

“Got it.” Peter could see them land on his roof through the window, though he didn’t ask how the man knew his address. Bucky opened up the door, but Peter stopped at the edge.

“Are you gonna be ok?”

“Don’t know just yet, kid,”

“Try?”

“Of course, kid.”    

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, I was thinking about adding in Stucky, not as like a really major thing, but just as a background relationship. Lemme know what you think in the comments!! <3


	3. Recovery, part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In this chapter; Intro a salty Tony, a worried Steve, and a nerdy Bruce. We also feature a hurt Bucky, and more of Peter's secrets, not just Spider-Man. 
> 
> Lot of POV switches, srry

Bucky was not fine.

The battle seemed pretty easy, at first. Some robots had been released by some low-life and they weren’t hard to take down, there was just...a lot.

Stark, Romanoff, Barton, and Wilson were there. Steve was still gone on a solo mission, which left most of the talking to Stark. It hadn’t taken long, but there was one massive pocket left. With all the civilians cleared, Bucky was the first to charge in.

That went as well as it could’ve.

He managed to take out quite a bit when one of them managed to get a hit in, buckling his knee. It only threw him off for a second, but that second was enough for the rest to tackle him. He felt shot after shot, each just enough to keep him down until the next one.

Bucky heard the others come in, but he was still had most of the attention. Slowly, he felt the weight of them all being pulled off. The others must've gotten the rest, all while he took a well-deserved nap, no matter who was calling his name...

 

 

 

Now, Peter wasn’t gonna stay at the house forever. With Riley out on another week-long drinking binge and May in-....well, he didn’t exactly have anyone to stop him from going out.

He did keep his word, sort of, and kept to the perimeter. He guided people away from the mess and took out whatever robots managed to escape the general area. With Karen, his AI, constantly updating him on how the actual Avengers were doing, he was doing pretty ok.

After clearing a couple blocks, he pulled out his own comm, lifting his mask just enough to quickly slide it on his ear. When Mr. Stark had offered a comm to use, he made sure to add a voice modulator. No matter what situation he was in, he wouldn’t give up his identity willingly.

Peter didn’t say anything for a while, just listening to who needed a bit of backup and assisting where he could help.

“ _I’m at the edge of the pocket, going in,_ ” Bucky said gruffly.

“ _Wait until someone gets there!.....God damn it, Barnes,”_

“Uh, Mr. Stark? What happened?”

_“Spidey! Just the guy we need. Tin foil needs help, do you have his location?”_

“Yeah,”

_“Get over there and help him out. The rest of us will be there in a second._ ” Tony’s voice cut off and left Peter to do what was asked. By the time he got there, he could barely see the man. Covered in a mound of robots, all trying to beat him down mercilessly. 

He went to work, yanking them back and webbing them to the walls. He heard the others arrive but he was still focused on helping Bucky. After a couple minutes, he was able to spot the dented metal arm and pulled the body out from under the rest of the robots. Peter heard the others come over, destroying what ever was left, but Peter was only focused on masked face at his knees. 

Black Widow, Natasha, came up behind him, gently pulling him back from the bleeding figure.

“Hey, Spider-Man, we can take care of this.”

“I know but-”

“ _Peter,”_ Karen interrupted, quiet so only he could hear, “ _Riley is calling you_.”

“Shit…”

“Spider-Man?”

“I have to go.” Before she could call out to him, he swung back through the city, back toward his apartment. Landing on the roof, he made sure no one was watching before taking off his suit. He always kept a spare backpack on the roof with a change of clothes. Peter stuffed the suit in and shoved the ratty backpack on his back.

Inside, Riley was standing in front of the couch, the term 'standing' used loosely. He could smell the cheap beer, whiskey, and cigarettes from the doorway.

“Where the hell have you been?!” He stumbled over, grabbing the collar of Peter’s old shirt.

“I was helping out downtown-”

“I don’t care if you were dying or someone else was! Your ass better be in this house when I am home! YOU DON’T KEEP ME WAITING! _EVER!”_ Peter was too scared to move, responding only with a small noise. He would've closed his eyes, but he had learned the hard way not to do that. 

“WHAT DO YOU SAY TO ME?!”

“S-Sorry......sir…”

“Good. Now get in your room and don’t make a goddamn sound. Need to learn fucking respect in this house,” He nodded, wanting to be let go. Riley seemed satisfied and released his shirt, falling back onto the couch. Peter went to his room and curled up on his bed, listening for his breath to even out. After another ten minutes, just to be sure, he pulled out his laptop from underneath his bed. He made his way through SI security until he got to Jarvis, the only thing blocking him from accessing Avengers data.

“Um, Jarvis?”

“Hello Peter,”

“Would you be able to tell me how Bucky is?”

“Information on Sergeant Barnes is classified, access denied.”

“Uhh, how about passcode Underoos?”

“Spider-Man's code is level nine, access denied.”

“Ok,” Peter pulled out a flash drive, plugging it into his computer. “Just don't tell anyone I knew Spider-Man’s password and I'll only be a couple of minutes, promise.” As soon as he turned on Karen's program, Jarvis went silent, the blue circle leaving the screen. The drive was meant to hack into anything, but he had never used it for something as big as Jarvis.

The virus he made was disguised as some small, random update, something that wouldn't be seen as a hack. After it got past the security in place, it'd latch on and pretty much throw the information at Peter. It wasn't made to damage or delete anything, just give access to Peter.

Surprisingly, Jarvis let it in easy, but as soon as it activated, Peter had a hard time keeping up with the coding. Jarvis was...incredibly advanced. He knew that, of course, but after making Karen by himself? It was almost easier than he expected.

It took almost another twenty minutes until he got into the medical files.

_James Barnes, Arrival at med bay twenty-five minutes ago._

_Multiple stab wounds to lower torso, left shoulder and left arm._

_Multiple GSW's to right calf and upper right torso._

_Admitted to OR room 3A twenty-three minutes ago._

_Current condition is unavailable._

“Damn,” Peter finally let Jarvis kick him off. “Sorry Jarvis,” the bot didn't respond as Peter unplugged Karen, sliding the drive back into his drawer.

“Hey, Karen,”

“Yes, Peter?”

“Can you call his phone? Maybe someone else can pick up,” no one did. He tried four more times before tossing the phone at his feet.

“Peter, it appears someone is tracking your hack into Stark Industries.”

“Shit, uh, did they get anything?”

“They seem to be tracking it, so yes.”

“Fuck-, ok, let's head out, and keep me alerted if anyone shows up.”

“Of course Peter.” he opened up the window and climbed out through the fire escape. Peter wasn't going to risk wearing the suit and someone making the connection, so he pulled his hood up and jumped down. 

 

 

 

“J, how's it going in 3A?”

“I-Itis going as planned.” Tony, Bruce, and even Steve looked up toward the ceiling. Jarvis never stuttered, unless something was….

“Jarvis, what's wrong?”

“Someone has access to the fi-files, Sir” Tony pulled up the coding for Jarvis. Sure enough, a small red spot was floating on the edge of the blue glow. Tony almost glanced past it. 

“What are they trying to get,”

“C-Current medical files on-on Sergeant Barnes, Sir,”

“Are they in?”

“Yes, sir. They managed to get to his current surgery status. I am attempting to track it as-as we speak,” The other two watched as Tony ran through Jarvis's system, trying to pinpoint exactly who is was and where they were. 

“He's gone, Sir,”

“Gone? What do you mean gone?”

“I assume he got what was looking for and simply let me kick him off the servers.”

“Can you see what he opened exactly?”

“Nothing specific, but I do have a general location,”

“Good enough,” Tony left Steve and Bruce without a word, everyone just silently agreeing to let Tony go. No oone could hack Jarvis and get away with it.

The location wasn't far away, only a couple blocks from the tower. A small apartment complex, the outside looking like it could've been abandoned. 

“Can I get a body count?”

“Fourty-three residents total Sir. I do have a small signature leaving from the third floor fire escape."

“Got it, let's land over here, but keep your eyes on 'em.” Tony landed in an alleyway, The suit folding back into his watch and a small briefcase. He somehow managed to not draw too much attention as he followed the signature down the street.

“Did you manage to get anything other than location? A name maybe?”

“His name is Peter sir. He was on the Jet with Sergeant Barnes before the battle,”

“What?”

“Peter was with him when you picked him up. Barnes dropped him off on the roof of the complex before coming to aid in in the fight." Why the hell would Barnes drop off some guy? As far as anyone else new, Bucky stayed indoors and didn't exactly like making new friends.

“How do they know each other?”

“I have no idea, Sir. All I know is he was in the jet with Sargent Barnes.” Tony kept his eye on the hunched figure as it turned into another alley. He followed in but was met face to face with a bruised kid. Curly brown hair and brown eyes, but his expression was definitely scared.

“You're a kid?”

“Why are you following me?”

“Why are you hacking into my company?” The kid stood down. Tony noticed how small he looked as he hunched back over, baggy clothes and sbruise on his arm. “So? What were you doing?”

“Nothing.”

“You got past not only my security system but also my personal AI. And, you did that to access medical records of a man with a lot of medical history. So I want to know why and what you saw.”

“I was checking on him.”

“Bullsh-”

“I'm serious! No one was answering his phone, and I did it want to just sit around waiting for someone...I saw what happened on tv.” Tony stared down at him, trying to find some sort of tell he was lying, but he couldn’t. After a few minutes, he took a step back.

“You're friends with him?”

“Yes, Sir.”

“Fine,” Town sighed. “Go to the Tower. I'll meet you at the entrance.” and with that, the man assembled his suit and flew away.

 

 

When Peter arrived at the entrance, Tony led him through the crowds of adults, back to the personal elevator. He knew where everything was, but he usually just climbed through a window on the top floors. Even then, he hadn’t been through the tower a lot. Peter assisted on attacks so much that they made him a weird, ‘half Avenger’, but only half

Neither Peter nor Tony spoke as they made it to the Med-bay, where Steve and Bruce were still seated.

“Is he out?” Steve stood up.

“Yeah, who's this?”

“This is Peter. Peter, this is Steve Rogers and Bruce Banner. Guys, this-”

“This is who got into Jarvis?” Bruce came out from the corner, walking toward Peter with his hand outstretched. “Thank you for destroying his ego, Peter.”

“It wasn't that hard actually, I mean, I'm not really that smart. Like, your papers on Gamma radiation are amazing and I've never seen anyone even compare to your work, especially myself but-”

“You've read my papers?”

“Not all of them but I-”

“Yeah yeah, smart people like other smart people. How's Barnes?” Tony interrupted 

“They finished up a couple of minutes ago, said that with the healing factor, he should at least be awake by tomorrow.” Steve looked over at Peter. “If you don’t mind me asking, how do you know him?”

“He helped me out one morning and I ran into him earlier, before the fight. I saw what happened on the news and I tried calling but no one would pick up so I thought either the phone was broken or something happened-”

“So you hack my AI?”

“Well, yeah, I guess.” Apparently, that wAs a perfectly acceptable answer. They all sat back down andPeter sat with them, talking with Bruce until a nurse came up to them. Steve was up the quickest, leaping up from his seat.

“Hello Mr. Rogers, Doctor Banner. And you are?” She stared at Peter, waiting for an answer, but Steve replied for him

“He's a friend.”

“Well, My name is Helen Cho, but everyone calls me Helen.” They shook hands briefly before turning back towards Steve, a clipboard appearing from seemingly nowhere.

“Mr. Barnes is fine, no complications or anything. We did have to sedate him pretty heavily, so he should come to sometime around tomorrow night, possibly mid-afternoon. They’re moving him to a recovery room right now. You may follow me,” They walked down another hallway, Helen and Steve talking about some mission, Tony and Bruce talking about a new project, and Peter walking behind them all.

This was an adventure, alright.

 


	4. late, part 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Intro small Nat and Clint, Stucky, and smol Peter. Also featuring more hurt Bucky.

They had offered for him to stay until Bucky woke up, but by eight-thirty, Tony had asked him if he had called anyone.

“Don’t need to.”

“No parents home?”

“No parents.”

“No other family?”

“Not home.”

“Ok then…” No one really bothered him after that. A couple hours later, someone had brought him some McDonalds. Chicken nuggets, fries, and a large lemonade. He accepted it and sat outside the room, quietly tapping his foot while he ate. Tony must’ve noticed he wasn’t going to sleep anytime soon and sat down across from him, ranting about some side project he had started a couple of weeks ago. 

After a while of going back and forth, Tony asked him if he wanted to intern.

“Intern here?”

“Yeah, you’re smarter than most of my staff and got into what might be the most secure server in the world, though I’m still touchy about it, it was pretty impressive. Now, you wouldn’t be working with the other interns, obviously,  you’ll probably work with Brucie and I. Always good to have an extra set of hands, and you already know foil wrap. Plus, I wanna know how you got into Jarvis.”

“Trade secret?”

“Trade secret that you’ll be sharing with your soon to be co-workers.” At some point, while Tony was going on about Peter working with them, he fell asleep on the hospital chair. He briefly remembers someone picking him up and the smell of bleach.

 

 

 

 

When Bucky woke up the next day, his eye sight was foggy and he couldn’t feel anything below his waist. He tried to open his eyes, but the light forced them closed once again. He panicked for a split second, waiting for someone to attack, but instead, a calloused hand grabbed his own flesh one.

“I go away for a couple days, and you end up in a hospital Buck. I shouldn't be surprised,”

“Steve? Thought you were still away?” Bucky could barely get the words out when his mouth refuses to comply.

“Finished early and did the debrief on the way. Got back right when they dragged your dumbass back in here?”

“Can’t feel…..my legs,”

“They're fine, just the meds Buck. They’ll wear off soon. Here,” Steve held out a cup of water with a hot pink straw. Bucky leaned forward as much as he could, with the help of Steve, and drank at least half of it before laying back down.

“Thanks,”

“Yeah yeah,” Steve sat down on the chair next to the bed, still running his thumb over Bucky’s knuckles. “There’s a kid here, says he knows you?”

“Kid?”

“Short, curly brown hair, talks like Bruce but rambles like Tony? Said his name was Peter,”

“...shit…..”

“He was something all right. Apparently,  he hacked into Jarvis to see how you were doing. Should’ve seen Tony’s face-”

“Hacked into Jarvis?!” Steve had to hold an arm out to keep Bucky from Sitting up too quickly. “Buck, relax.”

“Is he here?”

“Yes, but he fell asleep awhile ago. Kinda surprised you woke up this early. I’ll bring him down when he wakes up, but you, however, should go back to sleep.” Bucky just nodded, too tired to complain. He heard Steve ask to turn the lights down before locking hands once again.

 

 

 

 

When Peter woke up, he was in a bed he doesn’t recognize and there’s no yelling outside the door.

“Hello Peter.” Jarvis, he knows Jarvis. So, that probably means he’s in...Stark Tower. _Oh yeah, I actually got here._ Peter thinks to himself. Must’ve fallen asleep. “I’ve alerted Sir that you have woken up,” On cue, Tony lightly knocked on the door before he opened the door.

“Hey kid, you good there?”

“Yeah. What time is it?”

“Almost 5 kid, slept for a really long time, but hey, at least you missed school. Which you’re in, correct?”

“Yeah...”

“Well, I assume you can afford today off and figure out everything over the weekend. Here,” He pulled a pile of clothes from nowhere, “Change into these and come down for whatever meal we got going right now.” Tony left again, leaving Peter to change. The clothes weren’t bad, just...big. He had to tie the string of the pants all the way and double knot, leaving a giant bow hanging Just above the knees. The shirt was better, but the short sleeves came out to his elbows. Jarvis told Petef to leave his clothes there, so he folded his own things and laid them on the bed, slides his phone into the pocket, and awkwardly walk down the halls.

“Down the hall and to your right is the kitchen, Peter.”

“Thank you, Jarvis.” When he walked into the kitchen, to what was the most domestic thing Peter had ever seen. Tony was making _plates_ of waffles, Bruce was at a dining table and sipping tea, and Nat and Clint were there, bickering about something. That all stopped as soon as Peter walked in.

“Morning Peter. Nat, Clint, this is Peter, Barnes’s friend. Peter, this is Natasha and Clint.” Peter avoided their glare as he sat across from Bruce. Tony came over and set a plate down in front of him with two waffles. Peter ate quietly, trying not to listen to the conversation between the duo just behind him.

“Finish that, Barnes should be awake by then,” Peter nodded and ate his breakfast, talking with Bruce for a bit. As he finished, Nat and Clint sat on either side of him.

“So, how do you know big scary guy?” Clint asked.

“I-I just know him.”

“But you hacked into Stark’s equipment for him.” Nat countered.

“It wasn’t-”

“Guys lay off.” Thank god for Tony, “Let’s go down kiddo.” he wiggled his way out from between the spies, following Tony back towards the Med-bay. About to walk into the room, Steve suddenly opened the door. He had changed out of the worn, Captain America suit and into grey sweatpants with faded blue shirt.

“Oh, hey. I was just going to grab some food for Buck. He’s awake if you wanna see him.” With that, Steve walked down the hallway, humming some old song to himself.

Tony nudged Peter forward. “You go in, I got work and I trust you not to break anything.” Peter turned back toward the door, slowly pushing it open.

“Bucky?” The man was sitting up on the bed, supported by a couple pillows behind him. His hair was pulled into a messy bun and he had on the usual blue hospital shirt. “Uh, hi?”

“Did you really hack into Jarvis?” so, straight to the point.

“Uhh, yeah? Does everyone know that now?”

“Doesn’t exactly happen often.” Peter walked over to the chair next to Bucky’s  bed, sitting down and messing with his hands. To break the silence, Peter said, “You know, I did tell you to not get hurt.”

“Did you stay home?”

“…”

“Exactly.”

“I didn’t fight! Not really, at least. I stayed close to the edge, helping people.” It wasn’t really a lie, so he didn't feel that guilty about it. Bucky glanced at the clock before glaring at Peter again.

“Did you miss school?”

“Well, I kinda passed out here, so…”

“You shouldn't skip.”

“I didn't mean to!” Bucky just looked at him, face exasperated. That face reminded him of what Aunt May used to do when he came home late and forgot to call. Just the tired, caring face...parental. 

“I saw you on tv,” Peter said quietly, “It looked really bad...”

“I've had worse.”

“Still, I was worried.” Bucky didn't say anything but looked forward.

“Peter, some of the best doctors in the world work here with the best equipment, I'll be fine.” Just then, Peter’s phone starts buzzing.

“Everything good?”

“Yeah, but I have to go,” the boy jumped off of his chair, pretty much bolting out the door.

“Peter!” he turned back to Bucky, who was leaning against the bed frame, “Message me when you get home, ok?”

“Got it, see you later Bucky!” 


	5. Home is Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Intro pure, smol Aunt May. Also featuring Peters house, a nervous Peter, and supportive Bucky (+ a bit more Stucky <3)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HI! WAIT! BEFORE YOU GO!  
> \---------------------------  
> I made an official twitter where I'll update my plans (almost) every morning, I'll have DM's open for anything you want to send me, and other ao3 ish.  
> I'll also tweet whenever I post a new chapter for this book :)
> 
> -@ever_fandom-

After Bucky had healed enough to walk around again, he realized how much he had begun to hang out with Peter. He'd go to the coffee shop almost every morning, always talking to Peter before school started and making sure his homework. Once Peter started to actually work with Stark and Banner, he'd stay for dinner with the team, sometimes even spending the night.

Bucky did notice a few things about the boy that were more or less concerning. Every Friday, unless there was an absolute emergency, Peter was gone. No calls or anything, just a text at nine saying good morning and another at eleven saying goodnight. No one ever asked about it, but they had all had suspicions. 

Peter also didn't like home much, based on what Bucky had seen. On school days, he'd find Peter at the cafe, as early as four thirty in the morning, working away until he left for school. After school, Peter would either come to the Tower and ask Bucky to come and get lunch with him or go to his friend's house, as he always sent pictures of a newly built Lego set. The team didn't hear from him much on weekends either; a couple texts and that was all. 

The first time Bucky had come to his house, it was around two months into Peter being apart of the team, and he considered it an honor. Peter needed help to carry some groceries back and Bucky had been walking him home anyway. When he actually got inside, it was unpleasant, to say the least. 

The wallpaper was peeling just about everywhere, both empty and half full bottles of beer and whiskey shoved into counter corners and on shelves. There was a dinky tv on a coffee table across the room from an old, green couch. There were only a couple of pictures on the walls, a younger Peter was smiling back at Bucky. Peter led him to the kitchen, where he set down the grocery bags.

“Do you live here...by yourself?”

“Nah, My Aunt, she’s, uh, in the hospital right now. Her boyfriend lives here though, so I’m not alone or anything.”

“Is living with him...nice?” Bucky knew the answer when Peter didn’t say anything, opting to focus on the chore at hand. The boy avoided Bucky's gaze as he put everything in the fridge, throwing a couple bottle into a bin.

“He’s fine.”

Bucky passed him a loaf of bread and said, “You know, If you ever want to stay at the Tower, you can.”

“I’m fine Bucky,” Bucky didn’t press, handing Peter the rest and balling up the now empty grocery bags. Peter left him in the kitchen running to grab some papers he needed, a project with Stark or something.

Bucky looked over at the one picture on the fridge, almost completely covered by bills and reminders about rent. A middle-aged woman, brown hair tied in a bun and soft hazel eyes. She was smiling at a younger Peter, who was holding up a large blue ribbon in one hand and a small robot in the other.

“Ready!” Peter called, already walking through the door, leaving Bucky to only follow him out.

 

 

 

 

A couple of days later, Steve and Bucky had been waiting outside Peter’s school. He was scheduled to run tests with Stark, and the man had asked Bucky to pick him up; something about a quick meeting he couldn't miss. Bucky had gotten a lot better with being in small spaces, but he still had trouble, especially spaces like cars. Being with Steve or Peter made it better, so he didn’t feel that bad at all, even if he had asked Steve to drive somewhat hesitantly.

They sat in the car, talking quietly until they saw Peter walk out one of the side doors. Both noticed that instead of smiling like Peter always was, he was talking to someone on the phone, and didn't look very happy about it. He walked up and Steve rolled down the window.

“Everything ok?”

“Yeah, but I need to, uh, head over to the hospital….my aunt…”

“That’s fine, we can still drive you.”

“Oh, ok. It’s the one down the road,”

“I know that place. Peggy’s there,” Steve carried on the conversation, telling some story about Peggy punching some guy in the face. It was enough to keep Peter distracted while driving. When they pulled up and found a parking spot, Peter led the way in. Steve left the two to go see Peggy, pecking Bucky on the cheek before going off to her room.

“Do you want me to come with?”

“You don’t- it’s…..please?”

“Just show me the way,” Peter knew the way to May's room like the back of his hand. The third floor, go left, right, greet the lady at the desk and sign in, and another short right, second room on the left. Bucky originally planned on waiting outside the room, but Peter opened the door and looked back at the other, silently asking to join.

The lady on the bed was definitely the one from the picture, skinner with a bit more grey hair, but the same calm, motherly face. She sat up as soon as Peter walked in, waving him closer and patting the bed. He took a seat at the edge.  “Peter!”

“Hi May,” Peter pulled May into a hug as Bucky watched from the wall.

“I didn’t expect you today.”

“Doctors called about some papers,”

“I see, and who's your friend?” Bucky slowly walked up until he was standing just behind Peter.

“May, This is my friend, Bucky. He kinda helped me get that internship I told you about. Remember, the one with Mr. Stark?”

“Aah, yes.” She held out her hand slowly, waiting until Bucky had stepped forward and shook her hand. She had a tighter grip then he had expected. “Thank you,”

“You don’t have to thank me for anything-”

“Well I have to thank someone, god knows Petey here takes credit for anything,”

“May!” Peter blushed and hid his face in his hands. She smiled a rubbed a hand on his back.

“Oh shut it, Peter, you know I’m right.” Bucky smiled at the playful back and forth. Someone knocked on the door behind him, and a nurse walked in. She smiled at the group. “Hello Peter, I have the form right out here for you, feel free to come out when you're ready.” Peter nodded and turned back to May, about to say something, but May cut him off. “Go hang out with your friends, I’ll see you Friday, ok?”

“Love you, May,” Bucky was about to walk out with the boy, but he felt May grab his wrist. When he turned to her, she looked...sad, concerned.

“Be nice to my kid, he deserves the world.” Bucky glanced at Peter through the door, listening to the nurse list off the different forms, still smiling through it all.

“I know,”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it was a bit short, wanted to get this part out to you guys <3


	6. Bad Days aren't so Bad

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve has a scale, Winter shows up, and Bucky totally forgot about Peter. Featuring, a Peter and Bucky bonding fest  
> (Sorry it's late, my og chap got deleted)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> next part might come out later too cause I have a lot of tests and projects going on this week.
> 
> hope you like <3 :) ;)

Everyone had bad days, even the Avengers. They all had different things that they would do to relax. Nat would usually go down to read with Bruce, and Bruce will go find Nat when he’s upset. Tony goes down into his workshop, disappearing for days at a time and only talking to Jarvis and the other bots until he's feeling better. Though Clint’s bad days are rare, when they do come, he’ll sit and play video games until someone drags him off. People are surprised when they find out Steve has bad days, and they come more often than one would think. He’ll either hole himself in the gym, most likely ‘til he passes out, or he’ll stay in his room to paint or draw until he feels like he can breathe again.  

Bucky’s bad days are...different. They come a lot and they can come out of nowhere, sparked by a seemingly meaningless event. He’ll go to bed in the best mood and wake up in the worst.

Steve came up with a scale for those days; one to five, and each day he came up with a way to help, if only slightly. One was the easiest, usually caused by phantom pains or migraines. All he would do was stay in bed instead of going out for his usual morning run, and he would be back to normal by noon. Two’s were pretty easy too. Steve got someone, usually Nat, to send up breakfast. He'd stay, running his hands through Bucky’s hair. Three’s were where it started to get difficult. Bucky would refuse to get out of bed for anything other than the bathroom, eating as little as he could. Most of the time, they came from a nightmare, ones were memories got mixed up and he couldn't remember people or how to do tasks. Steve would remind him gently, trying not to seem sad. He'd keep Bucky by his side the whole day, no matter what. Four’s take up the whole day and still left the man upset or angry. Steve would stay in bed, rambling about his latest drawing or a new restaurant he wanted to try, any topic that would make everything ’normal’, as Bucky called it.    

This day...it was a five. Five’s were rare but still happened. They came from accidents, accidents where Winter came out.

Tony had made sure that they had gotten rid of the trigger words, but sometimes, when he got really stressed, suddenly  Bucky was shutting down and Winter makes a visit. Bucky remembered what happened too. He hates when he remembers what happened.

Bucky had been arguing about something petty. Bucky had gotten too heated and Steve had backed down, but he had gone up to Bucky, laying a hand on his shoulder to calm him down. As soon as he made contact, Bucky had him pinned against the wall, knife already drawing a drop of blood from the small press on his neck. It had only taken a minute or so for Bucky to come back to himself, but once he became aware of what he was doing, he shut himself off as soon as possible.

He’d go up to his personal floor, cold and dusty from so little use, and locked everyone out of the floor; No Steve, no Tony, no nobody. The only one who could contact him was Jarvis, who would only tell Bucky when someone was trying to get in and pretty much begging him to eat, but from his days in Hydra, he hasn’t eaten in four days and only had a bit of water. 

Four days. Four days since it happened. Four days since he cut everyone off.

Of course, Peter would try to see him. The snot-nosed kid couldn’t mind his own business, didn’t know how he got in though.

“Uh, Bucky?” The voice echoed through the dark hallway. Bucky stayed hunched in the living room, curled in on himself with just a thin sheet covering himself.  He was leaning against the couch, carefully pulling at a loose thread from the sheet. His sweatpants hung loosely around his waist and the faded blue shirt was bunched up in random places.

“Bucky? Everyone said you were up her- um, Bucky?” He didn’t respond but felt the sheet shift next to him. Peter leaned into Bucky’s right side. Through the sheet, he saw Peter gesture toward the other side of the room.

“Did you do that?” There was a massive dent in the wall, spiderweb cracks going all the way to the ceiling. The arm lay below that, still left from where Bucky had practically ripped the thing off and threw it. He watched as the arm dropped back down, “It’s ok if you don’t want to talk about it…..but, have you eaten anything, like, at all today?” Bucky only shifted slightly.

Peter jumped up from his spot, “Well, Is there any food here?” Against his better judgment, Bucky shook his head enough to where Peter would notice.

“Ok then, I’m going down to get food. I’ll be back in ten minutes, tops.” He listened to Peter jog down the hallway and into the elevator. Ten minutes and twenty-three seconds later, the elevator doors opened and Peter jogged back in and plopped down next to Bucky. The kid didn’t seem to mind anything, even the fact that Bucky hadn’t said anything, he was just...doing whatever kids do.

He set down a bag of barbeque chips (Bucky’s favorite), a small bag of Life Savers (also Bucky’s favorite), and a bottle of Blue Gatorade. As the boy adjusted himself to be more comfortable, he pulled out his phone, popped some weird thing on the back of it out, and scrolled through an app. He must’ve settled on something as he set the phone down in front of both himself and Bucky.

“Have you ever watched The Office before?” Bucky shook his head once again. Slowly, his own hunger betrayed him as he grabbed the bag of potato chips and set it in his lap.

“You’re gonna love it.” The thing Bucky liked best about Peter was that he didn’t ask. Never questioned why Bucky hadn’t said a word, didn’t ask why his hand shook whenever he reached out for something. He just let it be...normal, and when Bucky did start talking, halfway through season one, he just let Bucky talk.

“How did you get on this floor? I have protocols to not let anyone in,” His voice was scratchy and raw from such little use.

“Not for me, and even if you did, I totally would’ve found a loophole.” Bucky had the sheet pulled back off of his head, draped over his shoulders. At some point, Peter had pulled his hair into a bun.  _So you can see the screen better,_ he had said.

“Why?” Bucky spoke quietly.

“What do you mean-”

“Why do you come here, to check up on me? I-I mean, look at me! I'm holed up alone on this empty-ass floor, hiding from people who are trying to help and I don’t know why. I’m...I don’t deserve any of this…” Peter paused the show and set down the bag of candy he was holding. He pressed closer to Bucky, and without really thinking, Bucky had unwrapped the sheet and let Peter curl into his side. His head was tucked into Bucky’s chest as he let his arm wrap around Peter, the sheet now covering the both of them. He hadn’t known why he had done it, but it felt...natural.

“My Aunt May was diagnosed almost 2 years ago, small brain tumor. She was in and out until it got so bad that they just had her stay at the hospital. Since then, it’s been Riley and I. He was her boyfriend before all of this, even though they had only been together for a little while, he was good enough to legally watch over me. He’s...a lot, sometimes. I get it, with May and all, but he never really bothered getting close with me, even more so after May left. Being here; hanging out with you, doing experiments with Tony and Bruce, even the dinners where Steve is the only good cook and Nat and Clint arguing. It’s like I have a home that I can go to, where people aren't bothered by me...” He glanced up at Bucky who was watching him intently, “Honestly, you’re probably the closest person I have to like...an actual family,” Bucky didn’t speak, too distraught to say anything. He should be comforting this kid, but all he can think is that  _This kid cares, he actually cares about...me?_

“Sorry, I kinda unloaded that and you’re upset and I shouldn’t-” Bucky tapped his shoulder and Peter stopped his tangent. Peter looked up, brown eyes tinged a bit red and glossy, hair slightly sticking up.

“Kid, if anything happens and you need somewhere to stay, and I mean  _anything,_  you can always come here.” And Peter nodded, cause what they both needed at that moment was the comfort of someone who understood.

 

 

 

A couple of hours later, Peter managed to get Bucky to relocate into the living room with the rest of the team. They had all come up after Jarvis sent out an alert saying he was there. When they saw the two cuddled on the couch watching The Office, they had silently agreed not to push it. Steve took a seat on Bucky's left, slowly moving closer, just in case he was uncomfortable. Once he had gotten close enough and he was touching, Bucky leaned his head on Steve's shoulder.

" 'm Sorry..." Bucky's entire body seemed to relax and slump forward, more into Steve if anything. 

"It's fine Buck, glad you're back." 

"Mhm." a few more minutes passed by and Steve could hear soft snores coming from Bucky. Peter seemed to notice to and turned towards Tony.

"His arm is still on the floor in the living room. I wasn't able to see how much damage it had," Tony and Bruce got up and started walking toward the elevators, whispering about something on the way. The others left to the kitchen, Natasha saying that they would get started on dinner, leaving just the three on the couch. Peter looked towards Steve, smiling. "Thanks for calling me."

"None of us were able to get through. I thought he'd be back by the morning at the latest, but he's stubborn. You're his favorite out of the rest of those dumbasses, so I was hoping you could get through to him. Thanks for helping,"

"I don't think I really helped, just...made him realize something."

"Yes Peter, yes you did.....staying for dinner?"

"Obviously." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SO!  
> we found out more about Peter's life, May's condition, and a bit about this mYsTeRiOuS Riley
> 
> comment what you think about the mystery man and how bad you THINK he is, for I have plans!!! *evil laugh*


	7. Cat's out of the bag

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> it's pretty much the title
> 
> -@ever_fandom for updates-

It was four am and Bucky was actually asleep, Steve curled around his back when someone called him. He was up by the first ring, but Steve was still dead to the world. Carefully, Bucky shifted his right arm back to grab the buzzing phone. Though the brightness startled him, he could male out Peters number on the screen.

“Peter?” He whispered, trying not to wake the other.

“H-Hey Bucky?”

“Is something-”

“Uh-...can you come a-and, OW! Fuck…”

“Peter? Where are you?” Bucky pushed himself off the bed, already grabbing his sweatpants form the floor. He could hear Steve wake up behind him, laying on his back instead, “Peter!”

“Um, there's- fuck, the Chinese place, the alley….”

“Ok, what happened?”

“Some mugger…. _really_ big knife- ow…”

“Ok. Peter? I'm gonna need you to keep talking, I'm on my way.” Bucky quickly slipped on his boots, Steve already dressed behind him and ready to follow. They made their way down toward the garage, hopping into Steve's car. Bucky mouthed the directions to Steve as he pulled out and began to drive, probably breaking a few laws. Bucky kept talking to Peter, asking him questions to keep him awake.

“What happened?” Steve asked when they were only a few minutes out. Bucky tilted the phone away from his mouth but kept it close enough to here Peter ramble about a school project he was doing.

“Mugger. Managed to get himself stabbed so that’s always nice,”

“Shit.”

“Yeah,”

“Ok then, shouldn’t we call an ambulance?”

“I had Jarvis send people out, it'll be easier to keep him in the med-bay.” He realized suddenly that Peter had stopped talking, “Peter?” No response.

“PETER!”

“Buck.” Steve pulled over and Bucky jumped out, not bothering to wait for Steve to park. Bucky ran into the alley, seeing Peter laying against the wall. His hand was pressed into his side and his backpack lay a couple feet away, looking like it was ripped open. Bucky crouched next to him, gently grabbing his face, “Pete? You with me?” the boy didn’t say anything but groaned slightly.

“They’re on their way right now.” Steve ran up behind him, crouching down on Peter's others side. Bucky nodded but didn’t look up, still focused on Peter. He moved Peter's hand away and it dropped the ground, soaked in blood. A clean cut through his sweatshirt just below his ribs. Bucky noticed that it did seem like a larger knife than what a random mugger would have on him. Another...odd thing that he had seen was that the wound itself almost seemed to be closing. “Hear that Peter?" Bucky said quietly. "Someone will be coming real soon, just gotta stay awake until then. Can you keep talking with me?”

“Unghh.…hurts…”

“I know Pete, but it’ll only be a bit longer. I Promise.” Bucky could hear sirens approaching as he tried to keep Peter mumbling at the very least.

“Sir, I need you to step back.” Bucky felt Steve grab his arm as the Paramedics moved Peter onto a gurney. Steve grabbed the backpack and handed it to Bucky. The man looked back at him, worry glazed over his eyes. “Go with him,” and Bucky nodded, no longer able to speak. He followed Peter into the ambulance and left Steve alone, blood still sticking to his hands.

 

 

Peter woke up slowly, in stages. At first, he could only smell the bleached walls and questionable foods coming from down the hall. Peter felt the rough texture of the blankets under his hands and the metal handle frame just grazing his arms. After a while, he was finally able to open his eyes, though he had to squint away from the light. When Peter tried to sit up, he immediately felt way too light headed.

“Sit down kid, you're gonna tear something.” Bucky was the only one in the room, sitting in the chair next to the bed. He laid his hand across Peter's chest, slowly pushing him back onto the bed. Peter figured by now, Bucky would be questioning him or lecturing him about safety, but he just sat there, looking back and forth from Peter to….his backpack.

“Everything good? Buck-”

“How long?” Bucky didn't even look up from the backpack. He just looked disappointed.  

“W-What do you mean?”

“I saw it already, so don't even try that. How long?”

“A...a couple years now. I was thirteen when...it, happened.”

“Do you wanna start from the beginning?” Peter sat himself up with the help of Bucky and a few extra pillows behind him. Peter took a sip of water and looked back down at his lap, messing with the plastic cup.

“So I was thirteen, and...well, we were just on the field trip. Some science lab, don’t even think they’re a company anymore, and they were working with genetics in a lab. I kinda snuck in, but only to get a closer look! Then, I just...got bit-”

“Got bit?”

“Spider bite- don’t laugh! Later, these powers just kinda developed. I couldn’t just stand and watch people get hurt,” Peter gestured to himself, only wincing slightly, “When you can do the things that I can, but you don't, and then the bad things happen, they happen because of you." Bucky understood. He was like that when the trials were going on, debating on whether he could help the Avengers or not. It reminded him of Steve as well, even before the serum. 

“I get it, but the suit was at least partially Stark material, I recognized it. How did you get that? Spider-man had been going for almost a year before _he_ joined.”

“My uncle, he used to work constructions, he was apart of the clean up after the New York attack. He brought a piece of metal back, too small to do anything with, but I was able to recreate it. And, I may have taken a bit from the Tower when the younger Spiderman came over.” Bucky chuckled, glancing at Peter.

“Does anyone else know?”

“Uh, my friend, Ned. He kinda accidentally walked in on me in the suit.”

“Wow, very stealthy Parker,” He stood up, resting his flesh hand on Peter’s knee, “I’ll go get your doctor, we’ll talk about this later, a lot." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry, this one was kinda later, I just had a very busy week, I don't know about next week. I'll post it on twitter when i find out <3
> 
> (also, sorry it's kinda sloppy :o )


	8. The Calm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Petey gets a night out, and Bucky is a great bro
> 
> -@ever_fandom on twitter for updates-

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry this one is shorter, just wanted some fluff <3

Peter was pacing his room in the Tower, talking with Ned on his phone, yelling a bit louder than he should've been.

“I don't know! She just came up to me and we were talking about the gov assignment, and all of a sudden she's telling me to meet her at Ten Yen and then just leaves!”

“ _Well, don't you like her?_ ”

“Yeah, I mean, I never really thought she'd be into me though-”

“ _You gotta give yourself more credit,_ ”

“But-”

“ _When are you leaving?_ ”

“Soon I guess,”

“ _Cool, tell me how it goes when you get back. I gotta go, mom's calling,_ ”

“Later Ned,” Peter threw his phone down sat back on the bed, turning the volume back up on the tv. He had been staying at the Tower for the past few days, ever since Bucky found out Riley was busy on a ’business trip’. He had become very protective of Peter since he had been to the apartment. Suddenly, Bucky opened the door and stuck his head in.

“Hey Pete, Steve’s starting dinner soon, sent me to ask if you wanted anything specific.”

“Uhm, I’m actually heading out in a bit…”

“Oh? Does little Petey have a date tonight?” Peter could tell by his tone that he was joking, but he couldn’t help the flush in his face.

“N-No! I just-, I have a...it’s just-”

“Just a date,” Bucky stepped into the room and dropped down next to Peter, kicking his legs up on the bed, “So who is it?”

“MJ.”

That friend of yours?”

“Yeah,”

“Where are you going?”

“Ten Yen. She usually lives with her Mom back in Queens, but she’s over in Manhattan this week with her dad.”

“Man, the team is going to have fun with this,”

“What?!” Peter sat up, staring down at Bucky. “You can’t tell them! Please don’t…” He played back down and covered his face with his hands. Bucky poked him until he dropped his hands.

“I won’t...but you have to get me that weird ice cream thing.”

“Fine, just don’t tell anyone, especially Tony...or Clint...or Steve, I don’t want the Talk from Steve,” Bucky laughed next to him, his entire body shaking.

“Oh my god, He would totally do that, wouldn’t he?” This time, both of them were laughing, slowly getting more and more out of control until Peter was practically tearing up.

“Ok, I should get ready now,” Peter jumped up and walked toward the closet and pulled out what he deemed an ok outfit. He stayed so often that Tony had bought him a bunch of clothes to wear while he was here.

“What do you got?”

“I was just thinking this,” Peter held up his favorite blue sweater, as he wore it every chance he could. Bucky sighed and stood up. The kid obviously has no idea to wear. He walked over to the closet, looking through the various uniforms and outfits. Near the back, He found what he deemed to be good. A black jacket and a red, almost maroon sweater to go with. He tossed both to Peter.

“Wear those, maybe you’ll look like you tried,” Peter scoffed, but put the clothes on the bed and put the sweater back on the hanger. Bucky grabbed a pair of black jeans and tossed them over his back.

”Why do you know more about this than I do?” Bucky laughed, still looking through the closet.

”Because I've actually been on a couple dates, now just trust me, kid." He looked back to see Peter sitting on the bed, scrolling through his phone and smiling at something. “Hey,” Peter looked up at him, “You get dressed and I’ll go make up an excuse for you, and don’t forget my ice cream!” Bucky walked out, but stopped just as the door was about to close, “And wear the nice shoes!”

 

 

 

Bucky was awake when Peter came back later that night, almost midnight. He had been laying on the couch, finishing  _Wizard of Oz_ when the apartment door opened up the Peter walked through. He was carrying a small plastic bag in his hand and a wide smile on his face. Peter set the bag down on the coffee table in front of the man and threw himself onto the couch, face first. Bucky didn’t ask at first, opting to go straight for the ice cream. It was just Vanilla ice cream, but they put warm rice at the bottom and this weird, almost flavorless syrup, and it was just so...good. Nothing like what was made back in the forties. He opened the lid and dug in with the plastic spoon.

“So?” Peter moved his head so he wasn’t suffocating on the couch cushion. “Good.”

“Good?”

“...Great,”

“Am I gonna get details here or will I gonna have to guess horrendously until you give it up?”

“Well, we went out to eat, and both of us got giant dinner plates. After that, we went to that new arcade down the block. That was really fun, even though she completely destroyed me at everything. Then we went down to Coney Island…..it was really fun.”

“Good for you, now go to bed. Stark was this close to tracking you by 10:30…..You’re welcome!”


	9. The Beginning of The Storm part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Last time you got fluff, now get ready for some depressing shit...and this is only the start ;)
> 
> -@ever_fandom on twitter for updates-

“Are you sure you have everything?” Peter sat on the floor, messing with the straps on the duffel bag in front of him. Bucky was walking around the room, tossing his things in, knowing that Peter was organizing them. It was the only way the boy felt helpful at the moment.

“Yes, but you can pull out that list again if you want, double check.” it was only a joke at first, but Peter had actually written down everything Bucky needed for missions like this, ones where he would be gone awhile. Every scenario he could think of had supplies. Bucky had found it last night after telling Peter about the debriefing.

“And I can't-”

“You can't go, and Spiderman doesn't need to either.” after Peter got out of the hospital, he and Bucky talked for a long while about Spiderman. Bucky had been calm about it, and agreed not to tell anyone. Though he had set a couple of rules for him; no staying out the whole night, at least six hours of sleep a night, go to the Tower for any injuries and stayed by him on Avenger-related missions. Other than that, Peter could continue with Spiderman. “Besides,” Bucky said, “It's a Hydra base, and no offense, but I'm not letting you go into that, not yet.”

“But everyone else is going!”

“No, Bruce is staying back.”

“Yeah, but he's on emergency stand-by!”

“Peter,” Bucky squatted down in front of him, setting something in the bag. “This is Hydra. I know that you are capable of going on this mission, but if anything, and I mean _anything,_ happened to you...it would be on me.” Bucky didn't continue, only shaking his head and standing back up. He grabbed the bag, zipped it up. Bucky quickly took off the shirt he was wearing, a graphic tee, and grabbed the black undershirt he always wore under his uniform.

“What are those?” Peter pointed to the necklace Bucky had on. He stopped for a split second, but continued to pull the shirt down.

“They're…it's Steve's dog tags,”

“Really?”

“Yeah, We traded ours back in the forties. It was a whole thing back then. People always said you couldn't die without your tags, so you'd trade ’em, usually with your girl, so that you'd come home.”

“When did you trade yours away?”

“Back after I first got captured. They sent all the guys in that place home until they were able to get back out. Steve came with me and when we got home...we traded. I fell with his and he froze with mine.”

”So neither of you died after you traded.”

”I guess, yeah.”

Peter smirked and spread out on the floor.“That is so disgustingly adorable, I want to throw up and be happy for you all at once,”

“Hey, watch your mouth! Don't act all coy Mr. I-bought-my-girlfriend-a-plastic-ring,”

“W-What! How did you-”

“Yeah, nice try, but you are super obvious when you're all mushy.”

“At least I don't buy only Captain America related gifts!”

“First of all, how dare you, it hilarious. Second of all, I buy him non-Captain America related things, I just give him those things later. Gotta keep up the gag.” Bucky dragged Peter up from the floor, slinging the kid over his shoulder. “Stay close to the ground, we should only be a couple of days. I don't want to find out you're in some sort of mortal peril when I get back, deal?”

“That only happens when you're here,” Peter hugged Bucky, gripping onto the back of his shirt.

“You gonna be ok?”

“Yeah. One of May's nurses called, said they wanted to talk with me, so I gotta head over soon.”

“Do you want a ride before we head out, I can get-”

“Its fine, go save the world without me and be the most amazing, badass person ever!” Bucky gave the boy a small salute, in which he returned, before Peter walked into the elevator.

 

 

 

Bucky had sent a message just as Peter walked into the hospital saying that they were dropping outside lines and that he'd call when they got back. Peter pocketed the phone and went right to the third floor. When he got up there, it was chaos. Doctors and nurses were running around. When he navigated his way into an empty hallway, one of May's usual nurses ran up to him.

“Peter! I was just about to call you!”

“Why? Is everything-”

“Peter,” She pulled him toward the wall, out of the way of people making their rounds, “It's May. She said she wasn't feeling well these past couple of days, and it wasn't getting better, so we did some scans to make sure…”

“Is she ok?!”

“Peter….I'm so sorry, but it's grown too much and we can't remove it. We can give her a couple of hours,”

 

 

 

 

 

_“H-Hey May,”_

_“Hi Pete…”_

 

 

_“I d-don't want you to leave,”_

_“I know honey, but you'll be fine.”_

 

 

_“Petey, are those bruises from-”_

_“No May, you know how I can't help but standing up to the bad guys. I promise, it's nothing.”_

 

 

 

Peter was almost twelve when Ben died. He remembers breaking down, being angry, sobbing until he passed out in his bed. May had made him go to therapy for a bit, and he remembers what the lady had told him; everyone handles losing a loved one differently.

Losing May was different. This time, he didn't cry. He was there when she flatlined in her sleep, as expected. He didn't move, he didn't scream, he just sat there and watched as everything slowed down, until it all stopped.


	10. The Beginning of The Storm part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bucky comes back and doesn't like what he finds.
> 
> -@ever_fandom for updates-

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> #PrayForPeter, you won't like my plans :))) )) ) ) )

He can remember someone taking him home, the grab of hands pulling him away from the bed. He only recognized who once he was seated in the passenger seat of Riley's truck. Peter was expecting some sort of yelling, even a bit of fighting, but there was nothing.

He got away with it for two days. For two days, he sat in his room, staring at the ceiling or at his phone. All the Avengers were still on a mission, so it would be no use calling them. Even if they were here, Peter felt like his mouth was numb, unable to talk, he didn't eat and only drank a bit of water in the mornings. He had sent a quick message to Ned and MJ, saying he wouldn't be in school for a while.

Peter got away with it for two days, and then Riley walked in. He stood in the doorway, broad shoulders and dirt brown hair. He never was a sort of gentle person. He didn't even look down as he said, “Pack a small bag.”

“Where are we going?” Peter’s voice cracked from such little use and so little water.

“I'm taking you to Joey's place.”

“Joey! That asshole pervert? He fucking r-” Riley grabbed him by his collar, pulling him up to eye level. His feet dangled almost a foot above the floor.

“You're going, because Joey pays good money. If you keep up your bullshit four-year-old act, I'll leave you there,” Riley dropped Peter back onto the bed and slammed the door as he walked out.

Joey was one of the worst, all of Riley’s friends were. He lived up in Connecticut, some cabin out in the middle of nowhere. Last time he was there…

Peter trudged around, grabbed a small backpack, and shoved some clothes in. He managed to even put some soap and his toothbrush before Riley came back, almost breaking the door with the force he used.

“Hurry up!” Riley grabbed his shirt once again  and dragged him out. From the sudden jerk, his phone slipped out of the pocket he had tried to hide it in. Riley didn't say anything as he picked it up. He looked at it for a second before he suddenly threw it at the wall. Peter watched as the screen shattered and it dropped from the ground. He had planned to call Bucky whenever he got home, so maybe they could help him. With that option gone, he stared at the phone as he was dragged out of the apartment, into the truck, and out on the road.

 

 

 

 

The mission took just over a week. Days of staking out and trying to just find a way in. Then, after they finally found one, almost everything inside was useless. A couple of files on some low-level outposts, messy notes none of them could read, and out of date equipment. They all sat on the jet, flying over nothingness. They were all spread out, everyone passed out besides Tony, who was piloting, and Bucky. He was on the ground, using the wall to keep him up. Steve was tangled up and asleep in between his legs. He had practically fallen over when they got back on the Jet.

“Hey, Stark,”

“Yes, Tinfoil?”

“We got reception yet?”

“Probably, gonna call your little bro?”

“Shut it.” Bucky slipped his phone out of his side pocket. He flipped it open to the most recent caller. Bucky tried calling him four more times before he gave up, going right to voicemail every time.

“Hey, do you know if Peter's been at the Tower?”

“I don't know, Jarvis?”

“Mr. Parker has not been by the Tower since you left, Sir.”

“He's not picking up my calls…” Panic set into Bucky quicker than it had before. The kid never _didn't_ answers his calls.

“Sergeant Barnes, you do have several calls from a friend of Mr. Parker's, a Mr. Ned Leeds?”

“Yeah, can you put him through to my cell Jarvis?”

“Right away.” the phone rang a few times before a shaky voice picked up. Bucky had only met Ned a few times, just an exchange of greetings when he came to pick Peter up from school. He liked Ned; he was smart, got along with everyone, and his family made a mean cake (courtesy of Peter).

_“Hey, is this Mr. Barnes? Peter gave me your number in case something ever happened-_ ”

“What's wrong Ned?”

“ _I d-don’t know, Peter just left a few days ago,_ ”

“What do you mean ’left’?”

“ _Uh, May, a few days ago, she got really sick….she passed away…_ ”

“Jesus…”

“ _But he messaged me on Sunday saying he wouldn't be back for a bit, but even when Ben died, Peter was back in a few days...he tends to bury himself in work when he's sad._ ”

“How do you know he's missing?”

“ _I went by his place, Riley's car was gone and Peter wasn't picking up. I couldn't get in the apartment though, the door was locked._ ”

“Ok. Ned, meet me at the Peters place in...30 minutes, can you do that?”

“ _Y-Yeah_ , _I think so_.”

“Something wrong?” Steve was awake now, probably jostled by Bucky’s panic. Bucky set the phone back on the ground and closed his eyes. 

“Peter. He’s gone,”


	11. Camera footage

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> #PrayForPeterParker my doods
> 
> -@ever_fandom for updates-

Bucky walked carefully through the apartment, making sure not to disturb anything too much. He noted the shattered phone, useless on the ground. There were items scattered across the floor, pictures broken and clothes were strewn about. It looked worse than the last time he had come here.

Peters room was a mess. The Spiderman suit was still hidden under the bed, tucked into Peter’s ratty backpack. There was no way he would leave in his room, so he was either forced or someone convinced him to go. After having May die, It was possible Peter might have gone willingly, wanting to get away. However, the way Ned was saying he wouldn't leave, and with how long he had known had known Peter, Bucky didn't believe he would leave without a call.

“Hey, Ned?” The kid stood in the doorway, too scared and skittish to enter. He did take a step in at Bucky's call.

“Yeah?”

“Did you ever meet Riley?” Ned visually tensed at the question, but Bucky didn't comment on it.

“I've only met him, a couple of times. He's...not nice. I don't know what May ever saw in him, but the only times I saw him he was drunk…”

“Yeah...that’s what I thought.” Bucky grabbed the backpack with the suit and walked out, locking the door once again. Ned ended up walking down the block. Apparently, he was meeting with someone for dinner down the block.

Bucky got into the car, Steve waiting for him in the driver's seat. Bucky set the bag at his feet and put his seatbelt on.

“Everything ok?” When everyone else had woken up, Bucky didn't say anything. The rest of the team knew something was up, but Bucky wanted to be sure something was wrong before he caused everyone to panic. The last and only thing Bucky had told Steve was that Peter was gone, no other context; he did tell Tony as well, hoping he would be able to find some sort of footage. Now, he knew.

“Peter left a few days ago, no message left or anything, just left. His phone was shattered in the apartment and it looks like there was a struggle.” Steve nodded and began to drive. They were all close with Peter in one way or another, but he always seemed closest with Bucky, in a weird, almost parental way. “What’s that?” Steve pointed toward the backpack.

“I’ll show you Since we get back,” They sat in silence while Steve drove them to the Tower. He knew Bucky really wouldn’t tell him anything until they got there, so he focused on the road and tried not to think about anything too bad. Steve pulled into the private lot and they walked right through the front, even though usually they would take the private entrance. Bucky was too stressed to care if people were staring.

They met the others in the communal living room, where everyone was sitting around except Stark, who was nervously going through camera feeds on a hologram. As soon as he saw the pair, he jumped up, “Can I tell them?” Tony asked, ”I know you didn’t want them to know yet but it’s really bugging me right no-”

“Go ahead.”

“Peter’s missing!” It came out of his mouth forced and rushed like vomit. The team was on their feet immediately.

“What do you mean?”

“When did this happen?”

“Are you sure-”

“Yes, I’m sure. He disappeared a few days ago, no message or anything about where he’s going. His phone was left shattered on the floor and there was some sort of struggle.” Bucky threw the bag on the couch and walked over to the camera feeds. It was quiet for a minute before a quiet, “Holy shit.” everyone turned around to Steve looking at the contents of the bag. Slowly, he pulled out the Spiderman uniform, the metal spider glinting in the light. “Peter is Spiderman?”

“Yes,”

“What!-”

“Before you all start yelling at me! I didn't tell you because I promised Peter. He trusted me and we all know how much Spiderman cares about his identity being known, no matter who it was. I wasn't going to break his trust.”

“But-”

“It was his choice, and its not like I just let him go whenever he wants. He has rules.” they all stopped yelling, looking around at each other.

“On missions, you always team up with him, and when you can't, he's always in your eyesight,” Tony said, mostly to himself. Everyone realized how obvious it was the more they thought about it.

“If he is Spiderman,” Nat said, “How do we know some guy didn't find this out and take him?”

“Peter wouldn't have gone without fighting whoever came for him, and with the suit here, I think we can assume that's not it. One of his friends said the guy he lives with and his car is gone.”

”Who’s the guy?”

“His aunts boyfriend, so technically his legal guardian.”

“How do you know he didnt-”

“Because the guy is a drunk and abusive!” Everyone quieted at Bucky’s outburst. Of course, they cared for him, but hell, Bucky just wanted his kid back. Tony looked he just got slapped in the face, now pale.

“Why wouldn't he say anything?” Steve asked.

“Getting beat up on the street is different than getting beat up at home...you don't go talking to everyone.” The Avengers knew little of how bad Tony's childhood actually was, and the fact that he just...knew why, and he related, spoke volumes. Tony turned suddenly and scrolled through the feeds again, attempting to get rid of the silence. “I was going through any camera close to his apartment. This was the only thing I could find.”

Tony pulled up grainy footage, enhanced as much as possible. On it, a large, wide figure had a grip on someone, Peter. He was shoved into the passenger seat and the older man got into the driver's seat, starts the car, and drove off.

“I tried following it but I lose them a couple of blocks later, streets get too crowded and the footage only gets worse.”

“Did you get a plate number?”

“No, I can't enhance it enough before it completely ruins the quality of the shot, though I got the model.”

“Can you scan though footage to find any car like that one?”

“Yeah, how far out should we go?”

“They left a few days ago, so they got a big head start. Check anything airport or borders on New York, see if they left or if they're still here.”

“Got it,” Tony went to work with Bruce at his side, coming through the videos faster than anyone else. The others slowly dispersed, probably off to brood by themselves. An hour later, only Tony and Bruce remained.

 

 

 

 

 

 

_“Boy! Get more beer!”_

  


 

_“I'll come back in the morning, don't have too much fun,”_

  
  
  


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

_“B-Bucky…..please…..”_


	12. Not enough

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> #PrayForPeterParker just a bit more, cause he's gonna suffer a bit more, sorry not sorry

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> !WARNING!  
>  This chapter contains mentions of rape + child abuse and also graphic depictions of violence  
> you have been warned

Days went by with nothing from Jarvis’s systems. They had found the truck parked next to the border, but they didn't see where Peter and Riley had gone or what car they moved into. Days went by of pacing and worrying and just trying to calm down. None of them could really do anything besides Tony and Bruce, Though Bucky and Nat would help speed through the footage faster.

One night, it was just Tony and Bucky, still going through security camera role. Steve was asleep on the couch, his feet resting on Bucky’s thigh. Suddenly, the screen was replaced with a file instead of the road he had been looking at. ”What’s this?”

”I managed to pool together some things on Riley.” Bucky read as Tony spoke in the background, ”His childhood was full of fighting and stealing, even two charges of animal abuse. Everything, and I mean everything, was either dropped or expunged. I have no idea how, but it is. He started a new life about eight years ago, but instead of fighting, there's just a lot of drinking; almost as bad as me.”

It was all there, clear as day. Bucky could feel himself shaking from his anger. Tony notices and removes the file from the screen, but Bucky stays still. ”How....do people, just, get away with this  _shit?”_

”I don't know. Now, we just have to fucking find them.” Behind the man, his screen blinks and switch to another, one more red line added to the list of dead ends. Tony sighs and turns back toward the screen, running his hands through his hair. ”We’re getting nowhere.” 

Steve turns over on the couch. His foot presses lightly into Bucky’s stomach and he lets out a small snore before settling back down. 

”Why don't you go take sleeping beauty to bed, take a break from all this.”

”What about you?”

”I slept last night, I'll be good for a while longer.”

”You need to sleep too,”

”Thanks for the concern, but I'll pass. I'll take a nap in a little bit.” Bucky just nods, no argument left in him. He tries shaking Steve awake, but after three minutes and no movement, he gives up. Bucky lifts the man up bridal style, his head now tucked under Bucky’s chin, and they both walk off toward the elevator. 

 

 

 

 

 

It was almost a week later when an unknown number called Bucky’s phone. Tony was the only other one in the room, everyone else still eating dinner. He picked up slowly, unsure of who to expect.

”Hello?” After no response, Bucky repeated himself.

” _I-I-I didn't…_ ”

”Peter? Where are you?” Bucky jumped off the couch and walked next to Tony, mouthing ’ _track the number’_ to him. Bucky keeps his eye on the screen, listening closely to the small voice on the other end. 

” _I d-don’t…..I didn’t mean to…_ ”

“Didn’t mean to do what?” Bucky watched as a small, red blip appears in a patch woods in...Connecticut.

“How fast can I get out there?” Bucky asked Tony, hand covering the mic.

“I got a smaller jet. Fifteen minutes at most,”

“ _B-Bucky?_ ”

“I’m here buddy, keep talking with me. Where are you?”

“ _I don’t…..he-he just....I c-couldn’t do it anymore,_ ”

“Peter, what did you do? I’m on my way,” Tony led him to up to the roof, a smaller version of the Quinjet already waiting. Tony set it on autopilot before jumping out.

“I’ll have to others on your tail, Jarvis can put in the coordinates. Go get your kid.” He nodded and sat in the pilot's seat. The call transferred over the jet comm. Peter wouldn’t say anything besides that he didn’t mean to do something. However, he suddenly stopped talking.

“Peter? You still with me?” Bucky can just barely hear a car pull up in the background. 

“ _He…...He’s here,_ ”

“Who is there Peter? I’m almost there, but you have to keep talking with me.”

“ _He’s here...oh god, he’s here._ ” Bucky hears the thud of the phone dropping on the floor. He tries calling out to him, but Peter doesn’t pick the phone again. He’s only a minute out as he listens to the boy shuffle along the floor. He’s only fifty seconds out as he hears the tell-tale click of a gun, loaded and ready.

He’s only fifteen seconds out as he hears the shot.

He’s only ten seconds out when the phone line go dead.

 

 

 

 

 

Peter was dead In a matter of days.

Not physically, but mentally...he’s just, gone. After Riley ’dropped him off’ and he was forced to stay with Joey…..after May, he gave up. He gave up trying to defend himself, trying to stop either of them. He gave up on fighting. Peter was there almost three weeks when he actually got a chance to do something.

Riley hadn’t returned just yet, which wasn't abnormal, but Joey was still asleep. Usually, he was awake before Peter so he could...get ready for the day.

Peter peeked his head out the door, making sure the man was actually asleep before walking outside of the room. The only thing Peter wore was a large, dirty tee shirt, the only thing given to him. As Peter walked further out, he was careful to tip-toe and stay as quiet as he could. He maneuvered his way to the kitchen. Given his circumstances and...activities in the past few days, it took longer than he normally would have, given the kitchen was only down the hall. 

Joey was passed out on the counter, a beer bottle still gripped tightly in his hand. Peter saw that last night left over were still on the counter, which meant that he must have come back for more drinks after putting Peter in the room for the night.

It took Peter a minute to realize, he actually had a chance. He could leave, all he had to do-

“Hngh,” Joey shifted in his sleep. It sent Peter into a panic, backing up towards the wall. If Joey woke up now and saw Peter awake....

The boy moved automatically. He grabbed the nearest, heavy object- a thick, wooden cutting board. He slid it off the counter, adjusting the weight in his hands before carrying it back to the counter. He lifted it up with what little strength he had retained, his hands still shaking. Peter held it only for a second, letting gravity pull his arms down.

The crack of bone seemed to echo as it slammed down, harder than expected, but not hard enough.

Joey immediately dropped down to the floor, clutching his head and shouting at the top of his lungs, “SON OF A BITCH!” He blindly tried to grab at Peter who had backed up a bit. When he got closer, Peter slammed it down again, this time hitting his shoulder.

“FUCK! YOU-”

_“Fucking deserve this,”_

 

_SLAM_

 

“GET BACK-”

_“So I can see that pretty little face of yours, boy.”_

 

_SLAM_

 

_“Get your ass back here right now!”_

 

_SLAM_

 

_“Stop struggling so much, it'll only hurt more.”_

 

_SLAM_

_SLAM_

**_SLAM_ **

**_SLAM_ **

 

 

 

He was dead. He was dead and Peter could tell. The heartbeat had faded long ago.

Peter dropped the board, it and himself now covered in blood. It soaked through the shirt, staining the cloth and the boy’s skin. He backed out of the kitchen and into the living room. Peter dropped down to his knees on the floor, just barely missing the coffee table on the way down.

He was level with Joey’s face, those dead, angry eyes staring back at him. The only thing going through Peter’s head was _’Holy shit, I killed him’_. He stayed like that for around five minutes before he just noticed the small flip-phone lying on the couch. He reached out for it, bony fingers wrapping around the device. Flipping it open, Peter almost smiled seeing the battery just above half.

He typed in the number he had memorized and waited, the ringing practically killing him.

“ _Hello?_ ” Bucky’s voice was like saving grace. Peter could've laughed, cried, possibly both. He wanted to explain everything, but it just hit him again; he fucking killed someone. What would Bucky do when he figured that out? “ _Hello?”_

“I-I-I didn’t…” Why would Bucky want to see him again? 

“ _Peter? Where are you?”_

"I d-don’t…..I didn’t mean to…” Peter pushed himself into the wall. 

“ _Didn’t mean to do what?_ ” Peter stood frozen to the ground, unable to move. The only thing he managed to get out was a quiet, “B-Bucky?”

“ _I’m here buddy, keep talking with me. What happened?_ ”

“I don’t-” know, it just happened.

“He-he just-” I couldn't do it…

“I c-couldn’t do it...anymore.”

“ _Peter, what did you do? I’m on my way,_ ” Peter was backed up against the wall. Next to him, there was a desk had the bottom drawer was open. Inside, there was a small pistol. Above him, through an open window, he heard the too familiar truck pull in and park, the engine dying out.

” _Peter, you still with me?_ ”

“He…...He’s here…….oh god, he’s here.” Peter drops the phone on the floor, not thinking twice as he grabbed the gun Joey kept under the coffee table. He stood up and backed himself into the corner. As he hears the footsteps approaching, Peter turns off the safety, ready to shoot any second. As the door opens, Peter barely sees Riley walking in when he fires, the gun dropping from his hands. 


	13. Savior

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> #PrayForPeterParker is coming to a close, time for a happy, recovering bean :)
> 
> -@ever_fandom on twitter for updates-

Bucky grabbed a pistol from the wall, quickly making his way toward the cabin. It was in the middle of the woods, no other house for a couple of miles at least. Besides the truck, another van was parked by the house. The front door was wide open, but there seemed to be no noise coming from inside. All Bucky heard was the faint hum of another Jet in the background as continued forward into the house.

The front door opened right into the living room. Bucky almost tripped over the body laying on the ground. The guy, Riley most likely, was lying on his back. A single bullet, right through his torso. He wasn't dead, still shifting and struggling to stay awake, breathing heavily through his teeth. If he noticed Bucky, he didn't do anything about it. Bucky stepped over him, farther into the house.

Bucky would've missed Peter if he hadn't heard the mumbling. He sat curled up next to a bookshelf on the other side of the room, squished in between that and the wall. His knees were tucked Into his chest and hands holding his head down. As Bucky moved closer, he noticed Peter's nails literally digging just behind his ear, a small drop of blood sliding down his neck.

“Pete?” Bucky holstered the gun, making sure Peter could see his empty hands, “Can I come over there?” He took a step closer, still far away, but he just started...screaming. High-pitched and blood-curdling, the sound of it made Bucky want to cry and kill that bastard all at once. He quickly took a step backward, stepping back over the body of the still-dying man and out into the porch. He made sure that Peter was still in his view. As he got farther away, the screaming died out and slowly turned back into soft crying. Bucky heard the jet land right in front of the treeline and glanced back to see Nat and Steve coming toward him.

“Tony and Rhodey are checking the perimeter for anyone or anything,” Steve said. He was in full Cap uniform, all except the mask. Nat stood in the full black bodysuit, her hair tucked behind her ears. “Where is he?” She asked.

“Inside, living room, you should get him. Steve and I will handle the rest.” Neither of them asked, for which Bucky was grateful. The guys stayed back as Natasha slowly approached. He held her hands up, the same way Bucky had, and walked toward him. Peter didn’t scream like before, but he did push himself a bit farther into the wall.

“Hey Petey, can I come over?” he didn't move this time, looking down at his feet. Natasha moved closer, crouching in front of him. She put her hands up as if to grab him but paused, giving the boy a chance to protest. When he didn’t, she gently grabbed his hands, soaked blood. Peter let her pull his arms away from his chest. and they all got a look at his clothes; blood splattered across his chest and neck, some even on his face. While the boy was distracted, Steve and Bucky dragged the guy from in front of the door out and onto the porch. He must've bled out, but neither of them seemed to care. Bucky dragged him to the ground and sat on the steps, his shoulders still tense.

“Where did that blood come from?” Steve asked Bucky once they were out of earshot, “He had shot him, but it wasn’t point blank; all the blood was on the ground and the wall.”

“Another car might be another body. Wait until Nat brings him out and we’ll go see.”

“Are you ok?” Steve sat down next to Bucky and looked at him, eyes filled with concern.

“I’m fine, it’s Peter-”

“I know that Peter isn’t ok, but how are you?” Bucky looked down at his feet, the feeling of guilt seeming to weigh his whole body down.

“I...I just feel guilty, like...maybe, if I had figured it out sooner, I could’ve helped him before it came to this. When I went to his house, I could tell  _something_ was wrong. I’ve seen him with...w-with these bruises, but he just brushed them off and changed the topic before I could ask. I could’ve stopped all of this…” Steve wrapped an arm around Bucky, pulling him into a hug. He melted into it, too tired to do anything else. He had barely slept in the past couple of weeks, along with Peter disappearing, he'd been awake for too long.

“It’s not your fault, Buck,” Steve didn’t say anymore as they waited. It took another couple of minutes before they came out. Peter was practically clinging to Natasha as she carried him bridal style. They kept away as to not scare him. She nodded toward them and headed toward the Quinjet. There were enough medical supplies in there to help until they could get back to the Tower. When the jet took off, Bucky and Steve walked back into the house. Steve went toward the bedrooms while Bucky went back through the living room and into the kitchen

It was obvious that it was where the blood had come from. Another man lay there, face almost unidentifiable, smashed in. Bucky slowly picked up the bloody cutting board, which lay next to the body. The left side of it was almost completely covered in blood and it even had a couple of loose hairs matted down, bits of bone. Bucky set it on the counter, about to call out to Steve, when the other man called his name.

He maneuvered over the puddles and walked to the last room on the right, the only one with an open door. Inside...it was worse than the kitchen, worse in different ways. 

The walls were bare, peeling wallpaper, the only thing inside was a mattress. A thin sheet lay on top of it, and it was completely ruined; ripped, the edges frayed, and…god the stains. He felt like throwing up. It was just...everywhere.

Bucky excused himself and walked outside, standing outside the jet. Bucky just couldn’t get the image out of his head. That room,  _Peter_ in that room, afraid and alone with only those monsters. He ripped off the vest he was wearing and threw it onto the ramp, landing somewhere near one of the seats. Bucky hunched over, onto his knees, trying to get his breathing under control or at the very least get something under control-

“Buck,” Steve was suddenly right next to him, rubbing circles into his back through the under armor. He looked down at him and Bucky; he could feel the sadness radiating from Steve. “Tony and Rhodey are finishing up. They can take care of this. Let's get back to the Tower, we can help out there." Steve helped him off the ground and led him back to the jet. Bucky felt a lot more exhausted than he had before.


	14. "I love you" 's

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> we interrupt your regularly scheduled suffering to bring you a bit of fluff (i actually never planned on this much stucky, but oh well, cause it's *so* bad)
> 
> -@ever_fandom for updates (& tweet me what you want to see after this book is over) ((don't worry, it's not)) -

Everyone was in the waiting room, Steve and Bucky first. Natasha came out after the tests, though she wouldn’t say what had happened. Tony and Rhodey showed up an hour or so later after getting finished with the cabin clean up and brought coffee for everyone. Pepper stopped by for a while but had to leave soon after for a big meeting and asked to give Peter her love. Clint came and sat next to Nat; apparently, he had volunteered to be apart of the cleanup. Both Helen and Bruce were working on the tests, so they were absent from the group. Sam came over a while later. He was at the VA when they got the call and met up with them in the waiting room. Even Thor had shown up, coming back from Asgard when he heard that Peter was hurt and in the Tower.

They all waited for someone to come out and give some news. A couple hours later, Helen finally walked out and all of them stood up. She looked tired and almost nervous when she approached them. Bucky was right in front of her, Steve on his right and Tony on his left.

“How is he?” Bucky asked. 

“Peter is sleeping right now. We did our usual tests and....we did a rape kit,” Everyone stayed quiet. Those who hadn’t seen the house were informed of what happened by someone else, mostly Nat or Bucky, “I won’t go into detail, but I can say that he was raped...multiple times. I believe...I think it’s been happening for a while, before these past couple of weeks. I can be for sure, but there are older scars that are, at the least, a year old.” The room was deadly silent. No one wanted to speak, to ask another question that could make this somehow worse than it already was.  

“What can we do for young Peter?” Thor's voice was softer than his usual loud tone.

“Let him rest for now; he should be up by tomorrow afternoon. When he does wake up, try not to pile everyone in his room all at once, maybe two or three people at most. Other than that...just try to treat him like you normally would.” Helen turned back down the hallway and went back to her office. They all stayed in the waiting room, afraid to speak. After a while, people started to trickle out and back into their rooms. Two hours later, Bucky was the only one left. Natasha had tried to get him to go a while ago, but he had refused to move from the uncomfortable hospital chair.

Steve came back in around dinner, two plates stacked high with sandwiches and chips. He set them down on a table and dragged a seat right in front of Bucky, their knees brushing against each other. Steve grabbed one of the plates and placed it on Bucky’s lap, waiting until the man had grabbed a chip before starting on his own plate. Neither of them talked, just eating in silence. Bucky managed to get through a bag of chips and half a sandwich. Once Steve was done, he moved the plate onto the table and leaned back in his seat, glancing at Bucky.

He couldn’t stomach anything. He’d barely eaten over the past couple days, and even now, he just...couldn’t. There were still two uneaten sandwiches on his lap, but he moved it onto the chair to his left.

“I know you don’t want to eat Buck, but you have to,” Steve said quietly.

“I know,”

“Then-”

“Please….just, not right now. Later,” Steve didn’t argue his point any further. He lifted his hand, gently placing it on the back of Bucky’s neck, running his hands through the smaller hairs. Bucky just slumped forward, his face falling just under Steve’s chin. It was something they did a lot, Tony liked to poke fun at it. Bucky felt comfortable, not stressed or panicky, when he could feel Steve’s presence. He can remember doing the same thing during the war, after a particularly rough battle, every night in the comfort of their tent...after Steve found Bucky. It was a safe space. Bucky wasn't thinking before the words were already out of his mouth, “I love you.”

Steve didn't say anything. It was the first time Bucky said that to Steve. There was never a time before the war, they got together too late and fell apart too soon. After he came back, gotten through the trials and received a pardon, and went through all the intense therapy to get rid of the triggers. It was just under a year after getting back before he asked Steve what they were like before. It was slow at first; Bucky had no idea what was going on and if what he was doing was right or wrong. There were a lot of hesitations and misunderstandings. Gradually, he was able to remember more and more and everything relaxed. Still, Bucky had never said “I love you” specifically, he was just more the type to just show his love, not say it. Bucky always felt like if he said it, something would happen, something would go wrong and break.

“Love you too Buck,” Steve kissed the top of his head, soft lips fitting perfectly with soft hair.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry this is a bit shorter, but i hope you enjoyed <3


	15. Wake up call

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> fluff and sadness all thrown together and mixed up, the perfect recipe

Peter woke up fast, confused and scared; the last thing he remembered being in the house. The mattress felt too hard, he could still feel ground underneath it, his only sheet and no clothes. He tried to get up but an arm reached out and pushed him back down. The first thing Peter thought was that Riley was there, Joey maybe, but the arms were too small and thin. They had none of the muscle the two men had. Every time he tried to open his eyes, it was as if something had glued them shut. “Peter, calm down. It’s Natasha, it’s just me.” The boy finally managed to open his eyes, seeing none other than Natasha's face. He settled back down as she adjusted the pillows so he was sitting up, “How are you feeling? Do you need anything?”

“W-Water?”

“Yeah, hold on,” She walked over and grabbed a water bottle, sticking a straw in and holding it just in front of Peter’s face. He drank almost half of it by the time he was done. She set it down and pulled her chair closer to the bed. He found himself shifting constantly, too focused on the mattress than anything else.

“Peter?” He looked up at Natasha staring at him, “What are you thinking about there?”

“N..n-othing...I’m fine.”

"You’re not, but it’s ok to not be fine. We’re here for you,”

“We?”

“Barnes has been outside this room like he’s glued there.” Peter looked more alarmed if anything, “Bucky’s...h-he’s here?”

“Yeah, after you called him, he-” Peter shook his head aggressively and pushed himself further into the bed, away from the door. The last thing he remembered was the house. He didn’t call, _he couldn’t. Peter wasn't allowed to call. Riley would kill-_

“I didn’t-...I didn’t call, I- don’t let him, please.” He tried to get up, but Natasha held him down, careful to avoid his bandages. The boy kept struggling as Natasha pressed the emergency call button. A couple and nurses came in and just in corner of the eye, Peter saw a figure through the window.  _It's Riley he here he's gonna kill me and thenhe'llgoafterBuckyandSteveand-_ “Please don’t! H-He’s gonna kill me! Please, DON’T LET HIM KILL ME!”

 

**

 

Bucky could hear the defining screams from the hallway. He watched as the nurses ran in, trying to hold him down and sedate him. Natasha came out, clothes disheveled and her face creased with worry. She began to walk towards Bucky; he met her halfway.

“What happened? I heard-” She put up her hand to cut him off and sat down on one of the chairs, “He doesn’t remember calling, almost nothing from when we got him. He was convinced that he wouldn’t call anyone. He wouldn’t calm down, but it was like he couldn't hear me in the first place...He thinks those asshats are still alive,” Bucky sat down next to her and ran a hand through his hair, sighing. He was glad he didn’t go in, scare Peter further, but it was agonizing to listen to this kid... _his_ kid.

“So what do we do?” he asked. 

“Let Peter get better, wait until he can get up and around. He already knows Sam, so we can probably convince Peter to talk to him. Right now? Let him cool down and wake up, and no offense or anything, but I think it’s best if Pepper or I were with him.”

“Understandable. It's not like I can help him right now,” he closed his eyes and felt Nat pat his back. Until Peter even felt comfortable around people, much less men, All he could do was watch and wait.

  
**

 

Peter was in and out of consciousness, either not awake for long or freaked out to the point where he had to be put back under. Every time he woke, it was never long enough to talk about what he remembered. The last time he freaked out was bad, really bad. One of the male doctors had come in, thinking Peter was asleep, to replace his IV bag. He noticed immediately and tried to pull away. Of course, Bucky had heard it all and walked in front of the window. That's when Peter started screaming: that horrible, _terrified_ scream that Bucky had heard too much of recently. Bucky practically had a break down right there as Nat and Steve led him back up to his room and into his bed. He went into shutdown mode all over again, never leaving his bed beside to use the bathroom, and staring at the wall. Two days later, the most Steve managed to do was change Bucky into pajamas.

Steve walked into the room at noon the next day, carrying a glass of water. He turned the lights to a dimmer setting so he could maneuver his way to the bed. He set the glass down on the counter and sat on the bed, right next to the covered form of Bucky.

“He’s awake again.” Steve moved the cover just enough to see the man half-closed eyes. Bucky didn’t say anything, responding only with a small huff, “Nat told me that he let Bruce talk with him and change some of his bandages, didn’t panic or anything. She said Pete asked about you,” Another huff as Bucky rolled toward Steve, his face pressed lightly into the man's hip, “Bucky, he wants to see you-”

“He screamed when he saw me...multiple times…”

“He did that to everyone, and he’s getting better.”

“He doesn’t want to see me.”

“Have you asked him?” Bucky paused, lifting the cover completely off his face. His hair had become greasy and tangled and even though he stayed in bed, he had deep, purple bags under his eyes. “He wants to see you. I know you think he doesn’t, but he really does. Now go get showered Jerk.”

“...Punk.”


	16. Papers make things Official

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pepper has something to share with the class, aka, Peter, and he gets to make a big decision
> 
> -@ever_fandom on twitter for updates-

Bucky was sitting in the hospital chair, moved farther from Peter's bed. By the time Bucky had come down, they had Peter on so much morphine that he could barely register someone else had walked in. He had been there for a couple of hours when Peter woke up again.

After showering, Bucky had tried to dress as non-threatening as possible. He had gray sweatpants on, an older pair, and a faded light pink sweatshirt on. Steve was the one who had originally bought it for Christmas a couple years back. Back in the forties, Bucky had a tee shirt the same color, but it had become so ruined that he threw it out a few years before the war. When Steve gave it to him, it was like he got a piece of his home back. It was his favorite oversized sweatshirt, but he still only wore it around the tower.

Bucky was the only other person in the room beside the nurses coming in and out. He kept his eyes trained on the boy and he began to wake up.

“Peter?” he whispered. If Peter began to freak out, it wouldn't be good for either of them. Instead of tensing up, however, he lazily looked in the direction of Bucky's voice. “Bucky?” the man stood up slowly and walked up to the bed, making sure Peter could see him the whole time.

“Hey Pete, everything ok?”

“...throat hurts..”

“Here,” Bucky grabbed the small plastic cup and lifted the straw to Peter's lips. Again, he either didn't notice it or didn't mind as Bucky gently lifted his chin. “You good?”

“Yeah….” Peter turned his head, finally meeting Bucky's worried look, “I didn't think you would come…”

“Why wouldn't I?” Peter looked back down at his hands, now twisted together. He didn't look up as he said, “Nat told me what happened...a couple days ago.”

“Peter, that wasn-”

“Is it true?” he asked loudly. His eyes were wide but unfocused. “I think they tried telling me he d-...d-died, but I can't remember.”

“...Yes, Peter. They're gone.” like a switch, Peter began to sob on the bed, loud, gross sobs. Bucky immediately went to comfort him, but stopped with his hand on the railing. Peter, however, didn't hesitate to cling to Bucky's metal arm, dragging the man onto the bed. Bucky sat on the edge, carefully wrapping his right arm around the boy's back. Peter curled into his chest, his entire figure shaking and probably getting snot all over his clothes, but Bucky didn’t care. He held Peter until he had cried himself out until all that was left was a quiet whimper, “I-I’m sorry,”

“What are you sorry for?”

“I should’ve told someone, anyone...b-but, I just couldn’t…”

“You don’t need to be sorry about anything; you’re safe, and that’s all that matters now,” Bucky held him, slowly rocking Peter into a calmer state.

“What am I going to do?....May...s-she’s gone…”

“We’ll figure that out later, but I’m not gonna leave you Peter.” Bucky didn’t know how long he sat there when someone knocked on the door. He could feel Peter flinch and tense up underneath him, but relaxed when he saw that it was Pepper. She was dressed in her usual business attire, hair done up nicely. She was holding a file in her hands and set it on the bed. Neither Bucky nor Peter reached for it.

“Morning Peter, how are you?” she asked.

“Better.”

“That's great. I know it’s not the best time for business, but I wanted to make sure you know everything we’re doing. I know with the loss of your Aunt, you’ll need someone to stay with,” Her tone was gentle and kind; it reminded Bucky of his own mother. “Tony and I managed to pull these for you.” She walked closer to them and opened the file, turning the top one around for both of them to see: Adoption papers.

“It’s up to you, of course. Any of the Avengers would take you in as their own, so you can really pick whoever you want, besides Thor.” That earned a small laugh from Peter. She closed the folder and set it on the table next to Bucky, winking at him. She was about to walk out, but turned around in the doorway. “No rush with anything Peter, just think about it.” and with that, she left. Bucky adjusted himself after Peter made no move to let go. He lay down next to Peter, almost falling off the bed, but still comfortable as Peter relaxed in his arms. He didn’t expect Peter to be so comfortable around him so soon, but it was welcomed nonetheless.

“Can you do it?” Peter asked quietly. Bucky had almost forgotten he was still awake, he had been so quiet. “Mhm?”

“The papers…” It took a minute for Bucky to realize what he meant. _Holy shit,_ he thought to himself. “I-It’s fine if you don’t-”

“Yes.” Peter looked up from Bucky’s chest, surprise clear.

“Really?”

“Yeah, I meant it when I said I cared about you, kid. Now go to sleep,” Peter smiled as he laid back down, settling himself into Bucky’s stomach. He could feel small fingers tugging at the sweatshirt he was wearing.

“Stay?” Peter sounded like a child with his face buried in the clothes.

“Always,”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know pink b a c k t h e n was seen as a masculine color and blue was more feminine, but i think we deserve some soft boy in pink right now


	17. The Thing about Birthdays, part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> now that I've given you enough sadness, time for some tooth-rotting, heart-ache-inducing, amazing fluff!
> 
> -@ever_fandom on twitter for updates-

Peter was lying on MJ’s couch, legs dangling off the arm-rest and his head in MJ’s lap, both watching Wall-E on the tv. Peter was fiddling with his lighter as MJ ran her fingers through his hair. The lighter was a gift from Bucky after he had officially been released from the hospital, something Peter could always have on him. Ever since the cabin-incident, Peter had become jumpy and paranoid, always looking over his shoulder. The only time he ever felt really comfortable was when one of the other Avengers was around, particularly Bucky. When he realized this, he gave Peter the lighter as a way to focus on something other than the paranoia. It helped a lot; Peter always had it on his person.

“Hey, Peter?” MJ said.

“Huh,”

“Are you ok? You always ramble about the science in this movie.”

“Yeah, I was just...thinking,”

“You’re always thinking too much,” He looked up at her and smiled, closing his eyes and enjoying the background noise. Everyone always told Peter that he thought too much, but recently, it had all turned into nerves. It was Peter's birthday tomorrow, and he had overheard Bucky talking about something that he had planned. He knew it wouldn't be bad, but he was still nervous. In the past few years, Peter had never really had much of a birthday besides a small celebration with May in the hospital or maybe a short hangout with Ned and MJ.

A couple of minutes later, MJ shifted and pulled something out from under the small table next to her. It was a small box, wrapped in bright, striped wrapping paper. She handed it to Peter as he sat up, looking confused.

“This is for me?”

“No, I’m showing you a gift I got for Ned- yes it’s for you, now open it.” He took the present and peeled open the wrapping. She watched as he pulled the box out and took off the lid. Inside was a small keychain, one of the covers with '25¢ Insert coin to Play' on it. He noticed the crack on the bottom corner, stretching across to the top; it looked like it could shatter at any second. “Is this-”

“-From the penny arcade. The first game we played, the first date we went on. You got so into it that when you lost, you kicked the machine and pretty much broke the entire thing,” Peter recalled the memory well, as he had almost shattered his foot in the process. He smiled and smacked MJ's shoulder, laying back down on the couch. MJ lay on top of him, smiling down and pecking his nose. ‘“You’re such a loser,” she said.

“Not my fault.”

“And how is it not your fault?”

“Don’t know, but it’s still not my fault.”

“Whatever, loser.” She rolled off the couch and walked into the kitchen. He pushed himself up to lean on the arm of the couch. She walked back in with a bag of potato chips. MJ pushed his legs up and set them down on her lap, turning the volume back up and passing the bag to Peter. They watched the rest of the movie, passing the food back and forth, Peter going on about the butchered science. When it was over, she threw the empty bag onto the coffee table. “So do you know what the family’s planning for tomorrow?”

“No idea...”

“I bet it’s gonna be so over the top, like a week-long party non-stop or-”

“I already told Tony he’s not allowed to be in charge of planning.”

“Well, good luck with that.”

 

\--

 

Peter woke up that next morning himself. No screaming or someone dropping on top of him, just the sunlight shining through the large window. His room was huge with an extra high ceiling. Peter enjoyed laying up there sometimes, making a small web hammock and listening to music. There had been a few times one of the guys found him asleep up there, which lead to a lot of screaming and multiple talks about his safety. Peter had an entire wall of Posters, drawings, and photos, like a massive collage. The walls were a dark blue that matched the bed sheets. A dresser and desk were pushed against the wall opposite to the window. The window was probably his favorite part of the room: Floor to ceiling, wall to wall and enforced glass. No one could see anything from the outside, but he had a clear view of the city below him.

Peter climbed out of bed and lazily fixed the covers, tossing his pajamas into the laundry basket and pulling out a pair of sweatpants and a tee shirt. He made sure he had his phone and his lighter in his pocket before walking out.

He lived on Bucky and Steve’s floor, though his room was almost on the other side of the floor. It was originally meant to be temporary. He stayed for the first couple days, but then he moved to what was supposed to be his own floor. That night, he had such an intense panic attack that he almost went back to the medical wing. Bucky decided that he should stay on his floor and Steve was more than ok with it. Ever since then, he loved his room.

He walked out to the smell of pancakes, bacon, and sausage. Bucky was cooking in the kitchen, a plate already made for Peter. He turned around to see Peter standing in the doorway. No one else seemed to be there, so he sat down at the counter. Bucky pushed the plate toward him, “Happy birthday midget.”

“Thanks, Bucky...You know, I thought everyone would force me down into the group kitchen.” Peter said, already stuffing his face with food.

“Steve is out on his run and I told everyone else to not bother planning anything earlier than noon.” Bucky would’ve made a joke about coming home late last night, but they had all learned not to do that kind of thing anymore.

“Still surprised no one has tried to sneak in yet,”

“Oh no, Clint tried earlier through the vents, but he dropped down into our room instead of yours. He had the audacity to say he wasn’t happy with us; I was kinda surprised you didn’t wake up with all of his screaming.” They both laughed as Peter continued eating. Bucky sat across from him with an equally large plate of food. Steve came back about an hour or so later, greeting both of them in the kitchen. Peter laughed as Bucky threw the spatula at Steve, trying to fend off a sweaty hug. He finished eating with Bucky just as Steve came back in, dressed in casual clothes and holding a box.

“First round of the day,” Steve set the box down on the counter and stood behind Bucky as Peter opened it. Inside was a framed drawing, made with what looked like charcoal, of him and May, both smiling and laughing. Underneath was a wider picture, done in pencil, of the entire team. Tony and Bruce were excitedly going through papers on the left, obvious by their expressions Rhodey was on Tony’s left, smiling at the man. Next to them was Thor, swinging his hammer around, and Sam trying to avoid it. Peter was in the middle, Spider-Man suit on, mask in hand. Bucky and Steve were off to the side, Bucky pulling Steve into a nuggie. Pepper was next, smiling at the crowd with a file in her arms. Nat and Clint were far on the right, Nat staring the other man down as he stuffed a doughnut in his mouth, looking very pleased with himself. Peter looked back up at Steve, already teary-eyed.

“Thank you,” Steve walked over and pulled Peter into a hug. Peter wrapped his arms around his waist, the man patting him on the back before letting him go. “Thought I should give that to you here and let everyone else hound you later.”

“Y-Yeah, that’s probably a good idea,” Peter set the box on the table, still holding the pictures.

“Is it ok if I go hang these up?”

“Go ahead kiddo,” Steve ruffled Peter's hair and walked over the to fridge, pulling out an apple. Peter practically ran back into his room as he heard Bucky call out, “Hurry up, don’t think I can hold off the herd for much longer!”


	18. The Thing about Birthdays, part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> a continuation of the last chapter !!! 
> 
> -@ever_fandom on twitter for updates-

Peter was practically assaulted when he came down to the communal floor. Clint was the first one to clobber him, pulling Peter into a tight bear hug and recalling his tale of ‘a tragic landing’. Tony came over after with another bear hug, and some rambling about his plans. Everyone else was waiting for him in the living room. He was surprised that there was nothing already set up, just everyone lounging about. There was, however, a large pile of presents in front of the tv. Peter felt his entire face flush as Tony sat him down right in front of it.

Everyone had at least one gift for Peter, except for Tony, who almost had another pile from himself alone. He opened Nat’s gifts first: a set of books, all in Russian. “How am I supposed to read these?” he had asked. She just shrugged and said, “Learn”

Clint had given him a slew of prank supplies, including a note on how to use them against Tony. Bruce got him a bunch of papers and essays from colleagues; most of them were really about the more 'unexplained' side of science, in which Peter totally did not geek out over. Sam handed over a mass of wrapping paper, revealing a Spider-Man hoodie because of course Sam would. Pepper had gotten him a customized lego set with a lot of pieces and Happy gave him tickets to a boxing match, along with a small pamphlet on self-defense. Despite what people may think, Peter actually liked watching with Happy, seeing the other man not be so intense and professional.

Rhodey showed up later and handed his gift to Peter. Inside was a camera; a really nice one too. Photography had become a hobby for Peter recently, taking photos and sometimes even selling them to blogs and newspapers. He went to thank Rhodey, but Thor's voice boomed from across the room.

“Young Peter! I have your gift right here," Peter could see Thor holding a small object behind his back.

“Thanks,” Peter took the object; It wasn’t wrapped, just a small dagger. “It was made from a mix of metals, the same as Mjolnir, a long time ago. My father gave it to me when I was a young boy on one of my own birthday celebrations, and as today is yours for celebrations, I thought you would enjoy this.” The blade itself looked silver, but whenever Peter moved it around, it reflected the light into a mirage of colors. He handed Peter a small leather sheath and set it next to his leg. Tony was vibrating by the time Peter got to his pile. It consisted of a lot of...everything: clothes, books, even some blueprints for a project. Everything had an explanation or reason, thoroughly explained by Tony himself.

Bucky was last. There was nothing left from the pile except a mass of torn wrapping paper. Bucky pulled a card out of his pocket and handed it to Peter. He recognized it as one of the passes used to get into the labs, the high-security ones like Tony's and Bruce's; even Tony carried a backup card around. His didn’t look like the usual ones. It was completely red with a small, black webbing pattern going across it. “Here,” Bucky got up, motioning for Peter to follow him. Everyone got up and followed as well, all the way to the elevators. It was a pretty tight squeeze, but everyone managed to get in.

“Show the card to the camera,” confused, Peter lifted the card to the small camera in the corner, standing on his tiptoes to reach.

“Thank you, Mr. Parker,” Jarvis sent the elevator down a couple floors, where Peter knew they kept the labs. They stopped on the floor just below Tony’s lab, but Peter was still confused. Bucky pushed him through the doors as soon as they opened and Peter almost tripped over himself. The lab looked like it had already been used, the tables were covered with different equipment and papers. On the wall was his suit, surrounded by holograms.

“Thought you’d need your own lab, so everyone helped out with this while you were at school and hanging out. Now you can have your own space to work,” Bucky smirked and sat down on the closest swivel stool. Some of the others were walking around, having not seen the completed room. Peter walked over to Bucky and hugged him tightly. Bucky hugged him back, not hesitating to use his metal arm and pull him in tighter. “Thank you,” Peter said, tearing up.

“No problem kid, but we still got the rest of the day.” Bucky dragged him back to the elevator, this time just the two of them. “Come on, I wanna beat Stark so I can bug him about it.” Peter laughed as Bucky led the boy to the garage. Peter watched him carefully, knowing how much Bucky really disliked driving. After a minute of thinking, he went over to Steve’s Harley.

“This one, hurry. Stevie hates when I take his shit,” Bucky tossed a helmet and leather jacket to Peter. He could see how old it was...totally Steves. “Have you ever been on a bike before?”

“No.”

“Well, just hop on behind me and hold on,” Bucky smirked and put on a pair of sunglasses, waiting for Peter to follow suit. As soon as he had his arms around Bucky, the man sped off. Peter had never been on a motorcycle, so he didn’t know what to expect, but it _certainly_ not what he thought. It was as if his already intense senses were dialed up to twenty. He could just smell everything; the grass, the food stands, the exhaust, just everything. He could feel the jacket press into his skin from the wind. Every time they got to a red light or slowed down, he saw every little movement around him but was also too terrified to loosen his grip. Bucky was laughing the whole time, all until they pulled up to a restaurant. It was just outside of town, a small little nook in between two stores. Bucky led him in and smiled politely to the man at the front.

“I have a reservation under Stark, eleven people.” The man nodded and pulled out some menus, guiding them to the back corner. There were a couple people already in there, but none of them seemed to recognize the two. When Tony arrived, it could change, but they were safe for now.

The others came all later. Steve slapped Bucky's arm, seeing the motorcycle parked outside. They were loud and rowdy, three different conversations all at once, but Peter loved it. There was no yelling or fighting, no silent parties where you afraid to talk, not wanting to get caught.

Just him surrounded by his new family. 

It was nice.


	19. I tried... part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bucky tried
> 
> -@ever_fandom on twitter for updates-

“Why is this difficult? I thought this was easy. Now I’m stressed out.”

“I hope you know I’m really not the person you should be asking about this kind of stuff, why don’t you ask Tony or something?”

“The day I ask him for advice, I want you to physically throw me out the roof of the tower,” Peter laughed and took another sip of his drink. Bucky sat on the swivel chair, rolling it around the spacious area. They were sitting in the lab, Peter working on a different web setting at the table. “Well,” he said, “Why don’t you do just do what everyone else does?”

“Because I don’t wanna get on my knee like an unoriginal idiot. I mean, technically, we’ve been dating since the forties, but it has to mean more than that.”

“Again, I’m sixteen, really not good for proposal advice.”

“But you’re more helpful than the rest of them,” Peter looked up at him and smiled.

“Thanks, Bucky.” Bucky continued to roll around, sometimes peeking over at what Peter was doing. They usually spent time down in the lab, whenever one of them needed to relax or when the rest of the team was out. Sometimes Bucky was even helpful, pointing out painfully obvious things to Peter. Currently, everyone was helping make dinner upstairs and Bucky was useless at everything except baking, so he came down with Peter to work. He was also in the middle of a dilemma.

“Where do you usually go on dates?”

“Nowhere specific.”

“You have to have at least one significant place you both like,”

“Well, there’s a bakery back in Brooklyn, Central Park I guess, places like that.”

“Well just ask him at one of those places,” Bucky huffed and pulled up next to Peter. He glared at Peter before rolling away again and kicking his feet out. Peter smirked and continued tweaking the shooters, finally seeming to get whatever he needed right. Peter looked at Bucky from across the room with an excited look on his face, “Wanna see something cool?”

“If it actually works this time, sure,” Peter rolled his eyes and turned towards one of the dummies set up by the wall. He had a couple in the lab to do test runs whenever he had a new experiment to try out. He aimed for the one all the way on the left and fired. A ball of webbing shot out, almost like the grenade, but once it made contact with the dummy, it constricted around it like a cacoon. Bucky laughed as it toppled over to the ground.

“Wow kid, that was actually cool.”

“I know, that’s why I said it was cool,” Bucky nudged his arm as Peter tossed the web-shooters back onto the table.

“Mr. Parker, Sergeant Barnes,” Jarvis said quietly, “Mr. Rogers would like to inform you that dinner is ready.”

“Thanks, Jarvis!” Peter said, dragging Bucky towards the elevator. “Don’t procrastinate this either, get it done sooner so you don’t chicken out.”

“I don’t chicken out!”

 

\--

 

“I’m chickening out!” Peter shook his head and shoved the man out and into the hallway. Bucky had been pacing around in his room since he had woken the boy up. Now Peter had to leave for school and was forced to throw Bucky out. Ever so conveniently, Steve turned down the hallway to find him glaring at the door.

“Hey Buck, is Peter ready?”

“Soon, yeah.” Bucky followed Steve back towards the kitchen, the smell of waffles too good to ignore. Steve slid a plate to Bucky, along with a fork and a bottle of syrup. He sat down, but Steve noticed when a couple minutes had passed without him taking a bite.

“You good Buc-”

“Do we have anything going on tomorrow?” Steve thought for a moment before replying.

“Not currently,”

“Good...I wanna go out tomorrow, you and I. We haven’t gone out in forever,” Steve smiled and sat down next to Bucky, stealing a bite out of his breakfast.

“Ok, Mr. Smooth.”

“Shut it Punk,” Peter walked in and Steve got up, tossing him a pack of pop-tarts from the cabinet. “You’re gonna be late,”

“I'll be fine, later guys!” Both Bucky and Steve waved as Peter got into the elevator with an entire pop-tart shoved in his mouth. The two sat there and finished their breakfast in a comfortable silence. After they finished, Bucky cleaned up the plates while Steve pulled up a movie in the living room. Bucky was somehow more and less nervous than he was before.

 

\--

 

The next day went to complete shit because of course the world would fuck with Bucky like that. Some emergency in some third world country across the world needed help and Stark took Steve and Nat with him to help. Steve had walked onto the plane after mumbling apologies about how they’ll have the date when he got back. They were supposed to be back later that night.

The jet pulled up four days later in the middle of the night. Not even a blip for four days and Bucky had been on the edge since they had left. At three am, Jarvis woke him up saying to come to the landing platform outside. Bucky sprinted down, fully awake. When he got there, Nat just motioned for him to come into the jet. He found Steve huddled on the chair with a blanket wrapped around him and Stark rubbing his shoulder. He saw Bucky and walked over, pulling him away from Steve.

”Cap went on a surprise swan dive and the adrenaline didn't wear off until we were riding back. I assume you can take care of him from here?” Bucky nodded and watched Tony and Natasha walk into the tower, leaving just the two on the jet. Bucky crouched down in front of Steve and tapped his knee lightly. He looked up, suddenly relaxing as he realized it was Bucky.

”S-Sorry, I know-”

”Stop apologizing, it's fine. Let's get you warm and then you need to sleep.” They both stood up, Steve supported on Bucky’s right side.

The date was long forgotten.

 

\--

 

The second time Bucky tried to plan a date, it didn't go much better. A couple of weeks after the first incident, he had planned to take him to their spot in the park where they go out to relax, hidden by trees.

Then the storm happened.

It had started out in the early morning, just a little bit of sprinkling. Bucky figured that it would be over by noon. It wasn't. It turned out to be one of the worst storms in New York. A lot of places were shutting down power just in case, including the tower.

Bucky was usually ok during storms, but ones like these got to him: too cold, the wind and thunder drilling into his head. Steve was on the communal floor talking with the others while Bucky stayed in bed, attempting to shut out the noise with his comforter. A knock on the door caused Bucky to look out from under his pillow. The door opened and Peter poked his head through. His arms were crossed, a long sleeve shirt and flannel pants making him somehow look smaller.

”H-Hey Bucky? is it ok if-”

”Come in.” Peter scurried over and into the bed, curling into Bucky's right side. He had lifted the blanket up and pulled the kid in, making sure he was covered. Bucky pulled a pillow over both of their heads to block out the noise. 

”You don't like them either?” Peters' voice was muffled by Bucky's shirt.

”No. But I can usually deal with them. Just a bad day I guess.”

”I know you planned on doing it today. Sorry, Bucky,”

”It’s fine, another day.” Peter curled into him and fell asleep, Bucky following soon after. Steve crept in a while later, seeing the two asleep together in the bed. He smiled and laid down on the other side of Peter, pulling out his sketch pad to distract himself from the weather.

 

\--

 

After all that, one would think 'third time's the charm'. Well, surprise! It wasn't. More crazy scientists trying to take over the world, more weird creatures that weren't that strong, but too many at once could take down any of the Avengers.

Bucky was trying to clear out an apartment complex, the last of the civilians running into the street and behind the police line.

”I'm doing one final sweep.” that was the worst thing Bucky could've done. He was only on the second floor when a bomb went off right next to him. Bucky was slammed against the wall; definitely some broken ribs and possibly a concussion.

”You good Elsa?”

”Something just went off, I-” two more, this time, coming from a floor or two below. Bucky couldn't get up but he could feel the building begin to collapse. His comm fizzled in and out and he could only close his eyes as the ground collapsed underneath him and he fell a couple of stories. Everything was slow-motion as he watched all the floors above him start to follow.

Bucky didn't know how long it was until the dust settled. Only a small pocket of air allowed him to breathe. His gun had been ripped out of his hand after the first bomb and he was sure it was buried somewhere around him. Bucky's first thought was to look around for an escape.

There was a blinding white pain stopped him from moving. He doesn't remember screaming as loud since back at Hydra. He looked down at his stomach and gagged, suppressing the urge to throw up in the limited space. There was a wall pinning him down, but the corner was digging intohis stomach. Blood had already matted into his uniform, soaking into his back. Now that he saw it, Bucky could taste the blood in the air. There was pressure pushing into his lungs, keeping him from taking a normal breath. Every movement made him tear up as he just barely held back more screams.

There was no use in calling out for his team, no signal from below the ruble.

 

 

 

 

 

It felt like years by the time Bucky heard anything, even if his internal clock told him it had only been a couple of hours at most. There was shouting above him, but he couldn’t respond. He was surprised that he had managed to stay mostly awake. Somewhere above, he felt the mound of ruble shift, letting some of the weight off of his stomach. Bucky was barely able to lift his left arm to his side pocket, slipping out the small ring he had brought with him. The sensors in his arm let him feel the coolness of it, the smooth texture. Bucky had it on his person when they got the call and was too nervous to leave it behind. Now, he had it clenched in his hand, the only thing keeping him from having a panic attack.

From the corner of his eye, he saw sunlight peek through. Bucky closed his eyes as it became too bright too quickly. He heard voices from far away. It was going so well...until someone tried moving the slab currently taking residence in Bucky. Another painfully long scream, and it was set back down. Someone came up to his face, though he only caught a bit of what they were saying.

“-Buck, we got you............fractured ribs, punctured...gonna make it Buck....”

_It was Steve. Steve is good. I am good,_ he thought to himself. Bucky reached out with his closed fist, trying to find where the man was. Bucky connected his closed fist with another hand and relaxed, letting the ring out of his grasp.

“Buck? What…”

And everything went black.


	20. I tried... part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bucky tried 
> 
> -@ever_fandom on twitter for updates-

Bucky loathed waking up in hospitals. It was the one thing that he would never get over. Waking up and not knowing where he was, someone easily being able to overpower him as he lay on a bed drugged up made him more paranoid than anything else. Stark's personal 'Avengers Med-Wing' was than the normal rooms. They had color and had other background noise other than that _annoying ass_ beeping. This time, there was nothing holding him down. Even the blanket was wrapped loosely around his stomach. Bucky felt a warm hand on top of his, rubbing his knuckles.

_The ring, where’s the ring?_  He started to panic and tried sitting up, a horrible decision really. Bucky felt the same pain from before and laid back down, squeezing his eyes shut. The weight shifted from his hand to his shoulder. Bucky was barely able to make out Steve's face next to him.

“Stev….wha' happened...”

“Lay back down, don’t even try sitting up again.” Bucky listened to him but kept his shoulders tense. “Lift your head a little bit,” Bucky decided to concentrate on his voice and lifted his head just enough for Steve to slip a pillow under his head. Steve brought a straw to his lips. Bucky drank the water until it was all gone and laid his head back down. Steve sat in the chair next to him, running a hand through Bucky's now greasy hair. Bucky could see lines etched into Steve's forehead, a permanent scowl on his face. He reached his hand out, grabbing Steve's wrist.

“You’ve been out almost three weeks,” Steve said, answering the question Bucky had unknowingly been thinking about. In Steve's other hand, Bucky saw it: the ring. “You know, you could’ve asked me in a dumpster and I would’ve said yes,” Bucky didn't say anything, responding with a stiff nod.

”tryin’ to wait for th’ right tim’...........is tha’ ‘till a yes?” Steve laughed.

“Yes, you jerk.”

 

__

 

Later that night, while Steve was asleep on the chair next to him, someone knocked on Bucky’s door. “Jarvis?”

“It’s Mr. Parker,”

“Send him in.” Peter's head popped into the small room. It had been a while since he had first woken up and Steve had yet to leave the room. At some point, while he was still out, someone brought in a cot for the Steve that he had used for most of the time. Bucky remembered that Jarvis told him earlier that Peter had been shutting himself off again, and he was eager to see his kid. He looked...well, he looked like shit. Peter had bags under his eyes and his hair was a mess. He shuffled over to the bed, wrapped in one of Bucky’s blankets.

“Have you been here the whole time?” was the first thing Bucky asked. Peter sat on the edge of the bed, looking down at his feet. “No, Natasha and Tony made sure I went to school a week after we got back.”

“Well, I hope you didn’t have too much fine while I was out,” Bucky’s attempt to make a joke did not work. Peter didn’t so much a huff, only shifting the blanket to hide his face. Bucky poked at his thigh with his foot and got a glimpse of Peter’s face. His eyes were red and watery, tears clinging to his chin.

“Talk to me, Pete.”

“When we found you…..it-it just sounded terrible, and when we were on our way back…..yo-you flatlined,  _T_ _wice,_ ” no one told him that. He moved over and let Peter lie on his left side. The kid buried his face into Bucky's chest, crying openly at this point. He tried to calm Peter down, whispering in his ear and tracing small circles into his back. It took a while, but eventually, Peter was able to talk again. “I thought-”

“I know Peter, I'm sorry I wasn't there for you.”

“I know it’s not your fault, I was just scared...everyone was scared. I overheard Tony say that you’ve never been hurt this bad before,”

“Since I’ve been back, yeah. I just wasn’t careful…” Peter pulled his face from out of his shirt, Bucky could feel the confusion. Bucky made sure he was careful about everything, Peter knew that. “Did you get hurt this bad...like, before?”

“...Yes.”

“Oh,” Bucky was glad that Peter didn’t push further. That wasn’t a talk for right now, maybe another day, but not after a mission like that. Peter laid his head on Bucky’s chest, facing the wall. Suddenly, he lifted his head up, smirking at Bucky, “So what did he say?”

“Wha-, Oh…”

“I mean, it was kind of unconventional, but if it gets the job done-”

“He said yes, ok? Now go to sleep, smartass.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry this one is shorter, it wasn't going to split the last chapter and this one up but ig we did anyway


	21. Parent teacher conferences

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> next stop, foreshadowing-central 
> 
> -@ever_fandom on twitter-

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i know this one is short, but its sort of set up for next chapter

Peter sat on the counter, his legs dangling over the edge. The others were rummaging around the kitchen, all trying to help make dinner. Tony stood next to Peter and handed him a bit of cooked noodle from Steve's pan. He ate it quietly, not looking up from the slip in his hand. Tony noticed his anxious expression and his tight grip on the paper, connecting the two together.

“What do you got there, Underoos?”

“Uh, it's for parent-teacher conferences…they need everyone to sign a thing for parents who are going.” Everyone glanced at Bucky, pretending to continue their work. Bucky set a pan down and walked over to him. Peter handed the paper to Bucky, watching as he slowly read it over. Everyone knew that Bucky was technically Peter’s dad, but it was easy to forget. Peter rarely called Bucky dad, save for late at night when he was too tired to think, and nothing had really changed from how it was before. 

Bucky looked back up, “What do I have to do?”

“I mean, you don’t have to go. It can get really crowded sometimes, and-”

“Peter, it’s fine. I should go anyway; I'm not gonna let these other dumbasses do it.” Everyone in the kitchen scoffed, attempting to justify themselves as proper adults, while Peter laughed.

“I just have to give them your email. The school sends a schedule out for the times teachers will be there.”

“I don’t-”

“-have an email, I know. Jarvis can set one up for you. I can check it.” Bucky set the paper back down and went back to his pan.

“Whatever. Come help me cut up these vegetables,”

 

\--

  
The car ride there was more or less tense, Bucky driving and Peter in the passenger's seat. Peter had gotten the email yesterday saying when all of his teachers would be there. The conferences at his school were crazy sometimes, everyone gathered in the gyms, trying to maneuver their way around each other and get to the teachers before everyone else. Peter had tried to tell Bucky he didn’t need to go, but the man refused to stay back at the tower. No matter how far Bucky had come, crowds were still unpredictable and hard for him. He could barely walk around town by himself for longer than an hour.

They pulled into the lot, families already herding their kids in. Peter watched as Bucky took a couple breathes before getting out of the car. Peter could tell by the way his shoulders hunched over that they were having a rough start. They stayed toward the wall until one of his teachers had a spot. They all seemed scared of Bucky, and it was funny watching them carefully slide the progress report over, never directly handing them to him. Bucky took the papers and folded them into a mini stack. They were out in less than an hour, but obviously, nothing was ever that easy.

It was on the way out of the school. Bucky was guiding Peter through the lot, trying to get to the car as quickly as he could. Just outside the door, Peter looked across the street. He only caught a glance, just a simple little look.

 

_“Stop fighting me and calm the fuck down!”_

 

“Peter?”

 

_“You’re not even worth what I’m paying him for,”_

 

“Pete, what’s wrong?”

 

_“Get back on the mattress!”_

_“What did I say about leaving the room? Don't disobey me!”_

_“YOU WORTHLESS BOY!”_

 

“Peter, talk to me,” The door handle was completely crushed in his hand, falling to the ground as Peter let it go. His legs gave out from underneath him and he dropped to the ground. Bucky crouched down next to him, blocking his figure from any of the nosey parents trying to look at him as they walked to their own cars. “Peter, what’s wrong?”

“He’s...I-I saw him, over there,” Bucky looked across the street, trying to find a person who wasn't there. He kept Peter against his chest, trying to calm down his breathing and stop another incoming panic attack.

“Peter, he’s not here. Look at me Pete,” Bucky lifted his chin, wiping away stray tears, “You need to believe me when I tell you that  _he_ , is not here. He is gone and he is never coming back. He is never going to hurt you again, you got it?” Peter nodded into Bucky's chest. He had to help Peter stand up and help him into the back seat, as the passenger's seat door was no longer able to open. Bucky sat with Peter in the back until he was sure Peter was ok enough for Bucky to get in the front. 

The drive home was more or less tense.


	22. The Edge of Sanity

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter isn't okay, but he has a family to help him
> 
> WARNING! This chapter does imply self-harm and NONGRAPHIC suicide attempt. You have been warned. 
> 
>  
> 
> -@ever_fandom on twitter for updates-

That’s when it started. After they got home, Peter had gone to bed early. Bucky took a plate up for him and made sure he ate at least half of it. The next couple of days, he was always just a bit hesitant or paranoid. He wormed his way out of appointments with Sam, didn't go out as much after school, not even as Spider-man. 

Everyone was worried about him and Bucky even tried talking to him about it. He confronted him at breakfast before school. The others knew what he was going to do, and stayed clear until it was over. 

“Hey kid, you doing ok?”

“Yeah….why?”

“Ever since those conferences, you've been…not you,” Bucky glanced behind him to make sure the others weren't listening, “Have you been taking your meds?” it was something that Peter was worried about, everyone thinking he had to take meds after everything that happened. He tried saying it would be fine, but he practically had a meltdown. Only a couple people knew; Bucky, because of course he knew, Sam, because he was one of Peters therapists, and Tony, as one time he accidentally saw the prescription.

“Of course I've been taking them,”

“Peter, we-”

“I gotta go to school.” Peter walked out, not another word spoken to any of them. Bucky stood like that, honest to God in shock. Of course Peter had a right to stay private and everything, but he had  _ never  _ been like that. 

It didn't get better either. He woke up later, having an excuse to rush out to school. He stayed out with his friends later, and that wasn't bad, just really not Peter. Then, there was the mission.

Simple, nothing too intense or even hard. There was a group of people, caught in a corner. He could have easily gotten them away, but he just jumped on the thing. Everyone was fine, not even Peter got hurt, but it scared the shit out of everyone. 

“Peter! What the fuck!” 

“What, I didn't do-”

“Since when do you decide it’s ok to fucking jump head first into danger?! No one was around!”

“I’m fine, no one got hurt,”

“That’s not the point-, the point, is that you could’ve, and you didn’t wait for backup!”

“WHO CARES! You guys do that all the time and never have back up!”

“Because we’ve been trained, we are adults. You’re still a kid-“

“I’M NOT A FUCKING KID! I’VE BEEN THROUGH MORE THINGS THAN ANY KID SHOULD! I HAVE EARNED THE RIGHT TO BE A FUCKING ADULT!” Peter ran out of the room, disappearing behind the elevator. He grabbed his go-bag on the way out; just a change of clothes and a burner, still wearing his suit. 

No one  _ breathed _ . The only one who did anything was Bucky. His grip was almost cracking the countertop, a stray tear dipping down to his chin. Steve went to lay a hand on his shoulder, but the other man backed off. “I-I’m...I just need to, uh,...ju-just, give me a minute.” He didn’t take the elevator, opting for the stairs. Bucky just went to his room, locking the door behind him. It was a lot, he hadn’t cried in...a while. He didn’t want to fight, he didn’t want his kid to be mad at him, he just wanted everyone he cared about to be  _ safe _ . 

Despite locking the door, Steve walked in, not too long after Bucky came in. He sat down across from Bucky, “He’ll come back,”

“But what if he doesn't…”

“He will. You both love each other, he's not going to come back.” Bucky nodded, his forehead resting on his knees. 

“I just wish we could talk it out, that he wouldn't….sometimes I wish he didn't just have the ability to swing out of a building.” he held in a small laugh, more tears falling down his face. 

“I know, I am not the best with emotions. I never will be, but I want to be...for him, so I can understand…..so he doesn't hate me,”

“Trust me, Buck, he does not hate you. Yes, he's made right now, but that is no one's fault. We let him cool down, see if he went to one of his friends. There are tracking devices on his suit and his phone, we won't lose him.” Steve stood up, pulling Bucky up with him. Bucky felt like melting into the hug, not having to worry about anything for that split second. 

 

______________

  
  


Panic set in a bit later. There were no phone calls or text messages, not even from his friends. The worrying thing was that Spiderman wasn't out.

“For sure? Nothing?” Tony asked Jarvis. They all say in the living room, combing through camera footage. The scene was way too familiar for the Soldier's liking. 

“Yes, Sir. There last seen footage was half an hour ago, a small mugging.”

“Where was that?”

“Just outside the Tower Sir,”

“So does that mean he's staying close?”

“Not exactly- Sir, the window.” everyone looked out the large window. Webbed up was his backpack. Bruce was the one to go over, opening the window. He peeled it off and dumped the contents into the floor; the suit, his shooters, both his phone and the burner. 

“How….wait,” Steve ran off to the elevator, but no one asked where he went. Nat picked up the phone and unlocked it; almost dead. “Everything we could've used to track him is here,” 

“We have to go out, we have to find him.” Bucky walked towards the bag as Steve practically fell out of the elevator. 

“Buck, he has his old web shooters,”

“So he's out, without the suit?” Tony asked.

“Doesn't Matter,” Bucky mumbled. He took the stairs all the way down to the garage, taking entire flights in one Jump. Once he arrived at the garage, he went right to his bike. It was only used on missions and was completely Stark made. It was heavily armored, able to hold weapons, some even built in. He slipped on the heavy duty jacket and mask, not bothering to grab his helmet. The mask was different from Winter’s. It was light and comfortable, he was actually able to breathe through it. Complete with a pair of sunglasses, he jumped on, out onto the streets. 

“ _ Tinman, we got the jet going around right now, Jarvis is scanning the streets. You got anything?”  _ the comm in his mask lit up, just slightly static-y. 

“Not yet, let me know if Jarvis gets anything.” He rode around, dipping through traffic. At one point he passed by a closed down restaurant-

_ Peter was crouched at the edge of the warehouse, smiling back at Bucky.  _

 

_ “This is where I used to come with Ned, to test out experiments and stuff,” _

_ “Do you not come here anymore?” _

_ “Yeah, but it’s more for practicing moves and all that. May’s boyfriend found out a while back- not about Spider-man, just me being here….didn’t want me here without an adult.” Bucky nodded and tossed the candy wrapper on the rooftop.  _

 

Bucky stopped the bike, pulling to the curb for a second. “The warehouse…”

_ “You got something Barnes?” _

“Maybe, keep a lookout. I’ll call out if he’s there. Let me get to him first,”

_ “Got it,” _ Bucky did a complete u-turn, heading toward the empty warehouses. A couple blocks worth, all half torn down or dusting away. He pulled up to the one he remembered, smaller than the others and stuck in the middle. While parking, he faintly saw the old web shooters, crushed by a mound of trash bags. Bucky was silent as he made his way up, slowly making his way to the roof.

The sun was just starting to set, an array of soft oranges and pinks. It was a rarer sight in New York.

Peter was sitting there, legs dangling in the wind. He was wearing his hoodie. He didn’t turn around, but Bucky could tell he knew, his shoulders tensed up. He was holding something, but Bucky couldn’t tell what it was.

“He used to bring me here...after he found out. Called it his halfway house, in case he wanted-...in case he wanted to send me out of town...with his friends.”

“Peter, you need to back awa-”

“I thought it was getting better,” Peter stood up suddenly, turning around. He was holding Thor’s knife, his knuckles white from his grip. “I t-thought it was getting better. I was happy, and I wasn’t worried...then I saw him at the school and I  _ know  _ it wasn’t him, but...b-but it was like everything that I had done,  _ everything _ , was ripped out of me. I-I don’t know what to do a-and every time I close my eyes I se-see him and I can’t keep DOING THIS ANYMORE!” BUcky stepped forward as Peter stumbled backward, another step toward the edge. 

“I get it, Peter, I really do-”

“How?!”

“Peter, no, I don’t get your situation, and I have no idea what your life is like, but I know that feeling. When everything is falling apart around you. When they got me back, the only thing stopping me from just offing myself was Steve. You have people like that in your life, you don’t have to run off like this...we can help Pete,” He moved forward slowly, keeping his eyes on Peter. He reached out just as the boy fell forward. He pulled Peter close, falling away from the edge and onto the roof. The knife clattered against the cement, ringing out. 

His sobs weren’t subtle. They were gross and loud, the only cover being that no one was around. Bucky was shaking himself, terrified of what could’ve been. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry if this seems weird, I'm writing half of this while high at a hospital, oops
> 
>  
> 
> PSA: please, please, don't ever believe that you are lesser than an amazing person. If you ever feel like you have no one, feel free to contact me on twitter or any of these numbers below. I know what it's like to feel like that and to lose a loved one. love you all so much...<3<3   
> Suicide Hotline 1-800-SUICIDE (784-2433)  
> Suicide Prevention Hotline 1-800-827-7571  
> National Child Abuse Hotline 1-800-4-A-CHILD (422-4453)  
> Child Abuse Hotline / Dept of Social Services 1-800-342-3720  
> GriefShare 1-800-395-5755  
> National Runaway Safeline 1-800-RUNAWAY (786-2929)


	23. Pancakes help

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> after the last chapter, have some fluff for a while

Bucky didn’t call in from the roof until Peter had passed out, afraid he would run again. He kept the boy in his arms, holding him bridal style. They brought him to the Med-wing, in one of Stark’s ‘personal rooms’. It was more of just a bedroom, equipment moved into it. Bucky had almost fought one of the doctors trying to move him out of the room. Thankfully, Helen came by and escorted him away. She was the only one allowed to go in the room as of now. 

“He seems to be fine, a couple of scratches…. I would like to talk with some other colleagues of mine and Sam, I think the anti-depressants he was prescribed might affect him more..dramatically than we thought. It’s probably just due to his immune system. Once he wakes up, we would like to talk to him, if that’s ok with you?” 

“Yeah, can I be with him when you talk?”

“Of course. Other than that, he should wake up in a couple of hours. Have a good day Mr. Barnes,” She smiled and left the room, softly closing the door behind her.  

When he woke up a couple hours later, Bucky wasn’t surprised when he didn’t talk, at least, not to the doctors. He would just keep his head down, pull at the sheets until they gave up and excused themselves. After the third one came and went, Bucky moved from the chair to his bed, pulling the cover from over his face. 

“You ok?” He didn’t respond, not even look up from the sheets. Bucky smiled at him, “You don’t have to talk to them Peter, but you can talk to me.” He nodded and leaned into his chest. Bucky hugged him and ran his hand through his hair. 

“...I know…” his voice sounded like it hadn’t been used in years.

“Do you want me to talk with them, you can just sit next to me and watch. That way we can get you back into your own room, is that ok?” he nodded again and curled up on the bed. He grabbed his phone from the counter, not turning it on, just twisting it in his hand. The next time, it was Helen who walked in. Bucky told her that Peter didn’t feel like talking and she was fine just discussing it with Bucky. She brought another doctor in and Sam. When Sam saw the kid, he just pats him on the leg and sat in front of his bed. None of the Avengers had seen him since the jet, and he hadn’t talked to any of them since yesterday. 

It took awhile, but they established what do do about his medicines. Then came up the topic of his therapy.

“Would you like to continue sessions with Mr. Wilson?” Peter only shrugged at the question, but Sam just laughed.

“It’s fine if you don’t little man, sometimes it’s better with someone you don’t know,”

“What if he came to my sessions?” Sam and Peter looked at him simultaneously.

“You sure Barnes?”

“I’d be ok with it, he can just come with, get more comfortable with talking. Would that help?”

“I’ve seen it, yeah. What do you say, little man, you cool with that?” After a minute of thought, he nodded, a small smile lighting up his face.

 

\-------------------

 

The next couple days, Peter stayed in the tower, but he came to the communal floor every once in a while. He didn’t talk except when alone to Bucky, maybe a quiet greeting to the others in the morning. That following Wednesday, Bucky came into Peter's room around noon. The night before, they all had a movie marathon, staying up until the early morning. Bucky, however, was up at nine. 

“Hey kiddo, you up for therapy today?” 

“Y-Yeah, what t-time?”

“It’s later tonight, around six. The others are having breakfast if you wanna come down,” He closed the door, leaving Peter to change. In the kitchen, everyone was bustling around. Steve was making rounds of pancakes for everyone with Bruce’s help, the two chattering about a new recipe. Nat, Clint, and Tony were sitting at the counter, cutting up fruits and setting up the plates. Rhodey was helping Pepper with organizing paperwork for the day. Thor was the first one to notice him, waving almost aggressively. 

“Good morning James, is young Peter joining us for food?”

“I think so, he was getting up when I left.” Thor smiled and continued to drink his coffee. Surprisingly, Peter was great with Thor. He wouldn’t exactly talk, but it was the most he had seen the kid laugh in way too long. Bucky snatched a plate from the counter and grabbed one of the stacks near Steve.

“Morning Buck,” Bucky reached around him, grabbing the bag of mini chocolate chips, pecking him on the shoulder, “Mornin’,”

“You know, I already put some in the pancakes.”

“I know,” He maneuvered his way back to the table, grabbing a couple strawberries and blueberries from Nat. The others fixed up their plates and sat down, Steve being the only one standing. The conversation was booming, twenty different conversations going on at once when Peter walked in. He had changed into sweatpants and a long sleeve. It must’ve been Bucky’s as the sleeves hung down practically to his knees. 

“Hey Peter, want me to get you a plate set up?” 

“Y-Yes, please,” Steve smiled and grabbed a plate, setting up the usual stack, almost the size of his, and tossed a bit of fruit for him. 

“Here ya go, Bucky stole the chocolate chips if you want any,” Peter laughed and took his plate, going to his seat next to Bucky. Peter grabbed the bag of chocolate chips and sprinkled a couple on his pancakes. They continued their conversation, including Peter but not forcing him to talk. No one had moved an hour later, all too invested in their conversations to get up. 

Later, Peter decided to do the dishes himself, Steve helping to dry and put them away. Once they finished, Steve left, leaving Peter and Bucky. Just as he was about to leave, Peter tapped his shoulder.

“I-I was gonna go hang out with Ned, get out of the Tower...if th-that's ok,”

“Sure, do you need a ride?”

“No, H-Happy said he could drive me.”

“Ok kid, just let me know when you're on your way back. Remember, six o’clock!” Peter smiled and ran out, back to the elevator. He met with the others in the living room. He saw Steve sprawled out on the couch, all the other seats taken, and promptly fell on top of Steve, lying his face on his chest. The other man just laughed and looked down at him. “Where’s Peter going?”

“Ned’s, said he wanted to get out of here for a bit.”

“That’s good, you think he’s getting better?”

“I think after tonight, he’ll believe he can,” Steve nodded and ruffed Bucky’s hair. Everyone continued talking, Bucky falling asleep against Steve's chest. 


	24. like Father, like Son part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter and Bucky have a therapy session 
> 
> -@ever_fandom on twitter for updates(+memes)-

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you so much for 20,000 hits!!! I really like writing this story and though it might end soon, I'll have plenty more things to post. Feel free to comment or dm on my twitter for any prompts or os you want to see <3

Bucky woke up to Steve nudging his calf with his foot. Bucky lifted his head, vision still blurry from sleep. Steve smiled down at him, laughing at his expression. “You had a good nap?”

“I was, what’s wrong?”

“Peter’s on his way back, he’ll be here soon,”

“What time is it?”

“Quarter to six, so get your ass moving Barnes,” Steve shoved Bucky off and he landed on the floor, both men laughing. Steve stood up and reached towards Bucky, grabbing his hand and pulling him off the ground. Brushing off his pants, both men walked towards the elevator, going up to their own floor. Bucky was getting dressed in proper clothes while Steve lay on the bed, sketching away. 

Currently, Bucky was rummaging around his desk, tossing papers on the ground. “Hey Steve, have you seen my-”

“Folder's on the dresser Buck,” Bucky sighed, throwing everything back into the desk and stalking over to the dresser. Just like Steve had said, it was lying perfectly clear on the dresser. He grabbed it, making sure everything was there before setting it on the end of the bed. Bucky laid down less than gracefully, head landing close to Steve's hip. The scratching of pencil calmed him down. 

“You got everything?”

“Yeah,”

“You’re doing that thing this time right?”

“Yeah, going out for dinner and then going to his place. Might even get Peter to talk with him,” 

“That would be good for him. You think he called Mrs. Wilson?”

“Probably, try and bribe him with cookies and those little cakes…” Steve laughed and continued scribbling away. Bucky poked his head up, getting a look at the picture. It was the Tower, detailed and perfect, as usual. On the roof, there were quickly drawn figures, all waving. He saw a cape there and mask over there...it was the Avengers. Even though they were small, he could see the smiles. Bucky laughed quietly and sat up, grabbing the files at the end of the bed. 

“Sergeant Barnes, Mr. Parker is waiting in the garage for you.”

“Tell him I’m on my way,”

“Of course.” Bucky got up, kissing Steve on the forehead before jogging out to the elevator. He fixed all the papers in the folder as the doors opened. Peter was leaning against the car, typing something out on his phone.

“Did you have fun?”

“O-Oh, yeah we just k-kinda watched some Netflix.” Bucky nodded and got in, Peter in the passenger’s seat. He noticed bucky set the folder down on the dash and grabbed it. 

“What’s this?”

“I bring these to sessions, you’ll see,” Peter just set the folder on his lap and put on his seatbelt. Bucky did the same, turning the music on and pulling out. Sam and Bucky usually met at the VA, and this time was no different. The ride was short and Bucky was able to find a spot close to the entrance, as the lot was almost empty. Instead of getting out, Bucky stayed in his seat, pulling out his phone and sending a message to someone. Not even two minutes later, Sam strolled out, smiling at the sight of Bucky and Peter. The boy was about to get out of the front, but Sam just jumped into the back, spreading out along the seats.

“You're picking for tonight Barnes. Sup little man?” Peter gave a small wave in response and Sam smiled before leaning back and pulling out his phone.

“What's the plan for after?”

“Well, after dinner we can go back to my place for the papers. Momma Wilson heard you were coming over and left some desserts,” 

“Of course,” The two made small talk the entire ride, trading insults back and forth like they’d been friends for years and years. Eventually, Bucky stopped at a small cafe. Both Sam and Bucky just hopped out, Peter following behind. He noted when Bucky handed Sam the folder, looking only slightly hesitant. Sam led them to a table, sitting down close to a window. Peter sat across from him, waiting for Bucky to sit down, but instead, we went over to the counter.

Peter sat there, tearing a napkin into smaller bits. Sam opened the file and started going through the papers. Peter looked at him nervously, asking quietly, “W-What are those?”

Sam glanced up, “Bucky’s papers.”

“Bu-But what’s on t-them?”

“It an exercise I have him do. He writes down all the bad things he thinks when he’s upset. A couple drawings sometimes.”

“A-And you just read t-them?”

“Sometimes, if he wants me too. Today is sort of different, I usually just skim through them,”

“...Are they bad?”

“Depends,” Just then, Bucky came back with two trays. He handed one to Sam, a sandwich with a cup of soup, and placed the other one in front of Peter. After he grabbed a sandwich off of it, he was left with a bowl of mac and cheese. Bucky just shrugs and says, “It’s good, thought you’d like it,” Peter says a small thank you and eats, listening to Bucky and Sam talk about the most casual things, like weather and different stores they had gone to. He was halfway done with his bowl when he just felt...something. Looking over his shoulder, he saw nothing. Peter had tried to ignore it, but the feeling only got worse. After a minute, it became too much for Peter. He quickly excused himself and went into the bathroom, locking himself in the closest stall. No one else seemed to be in with him, so he let himself breathe, trying to control that feeling of being  _ watched _ .

He didn’t know how long he was there when the door opened. “Peter?” Of course, Bucky. “Peter? You ok?”

“Y-Yeah, in he-here…” Peter reached a hand up from where he was crouched, sliding the lock. The door slowly swung in, Bucky peeking his head from behind the wall. When he saw Peter hunched over, back against the wall, he kneeled down in front of him. “What happened?” His voice was softer than before. He often talked to Peter like that. 

“I just...I-I thought-, it felt..like there was someone,  _ watching _ .”

“Peter, I promise you that there is no one watching us.”

“I know, I’m s-”

“Don’t be sorry, it’s perfectly fine to feel like this. That’s why I’m here, so you don’t have to feel alone. Got it?”

“Yeah...thanks Bucky,”

“Anytime Pete, now let's get back and finish your food, before Sam eats it.”


	25. like Father, like Son part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> too much alike 
> 
> -@ever_fandom on twitter-

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR 20,000 HITS!!!!! I love all of you who have read this and stuck with my shitty schedule.  
> after this part wraps up, there's gonna be one more REALLY BIG plot point with resolve, and we shall be done.
> 
> love you <3<3

Walking back out, Bucky led him back to the table. Sam just smiled and set the folder down. “We good?”

“Yeah,” Bucky said. He grabbed the empty trays and stacked them atop each other. “I'm gonna throw the trash away, be right back.” Bucky left, carrying the trays with him. Sam looked back at Peter as he ate. 

“You know, it's ok to feel like that, watched. I've seen a lot of people like that.” 

“I know...I know he's not there. It’s just….weird.” 

“It gets better with time, not all of it, but it will.” They both smiled as Bucky walked back over. The others stood up, Peter placing his bowl in the bucket of dirty dishes. Sam passed the folder to Bucky and they all piled back into the car. The ride was short to Sam’s house. When Bucky pulled the car into the driveway, he expected something more...quiet, maybe an apartment or a small house. Instead, it was a large two-story house, a nice garden in the front. Another car was pulled in, and Sam just sighed. Peter swore he saw Bucky smirking.

“I thought she had just dropped stuff off…” Sam looked back at Peter, “Sorry, Momma Wilson decided to stop by. I’m apologizing now, as she can be a bit much.” Peter laughed and got out of the car, Sam and Bucky following suit. He had only met Mrs. Wilson once while walking here with Bucky. She was just leaving and said a quick goodbye to the both of them. 

Walking inside...it was a sight. 

He could smell the kitchen from the front door, the scent pretty much bitch-slapping him on sight. Sam led them to the kitchen, where there was a woman bustling around. There was flour all over the counters and cooling trays lined up on the counter, half filled up already. 

“You know, this would be a lot easier if you told me when you had guests Samuel.”

“Hello Ma,” He walked over and gave her a small hug, avoiding any stains. Peter stood slightly behind Bucky. The man himself, however, walked over and gave her another side hug.

“How are you doing James?”

“Good, Ma’am.”

“I told you already, it’s Darlene. Now, who’s this boy you’ve decided to include in your craziness?” Peter took a step forward and waved, Bucky speaking for him.

“This is Peter, he's the one I talked about last time.” Peter flushed at that. Mrs. Wilson smiled and waved at him. “I see, well, this last batch is almost done and then I’ll be out of your hair.” They left, each grabbing a cookie, and Sam lead them to the backyard. It was nice, fenced in with a couple trees along the edge. Right in the middle of the yard, there was a small fire pit. Sam grabbed some things from next to the door. Bucky pulls up chairs for himself and Peter and they sit next to each other. Tene minutes later, there’s a small fire blazing and Sam is sitting across from them, asking Peter about his day.

“It was fun.”

“How are those friends of yours, Ned and MJ?”

“O-Oh, they’re fine. We hung out earlier. MJ and I have plans for the day I come back to school,”

“That’s cool, when do you think you’re going back?”

“Um, I was thinking about tomorrow, but MJ said we weren’t doing anything, so I figured I would catch up on work now and start next week.”

“That’s good, just make sure you got everything set before you head out.” Peter gave him a small salute and Sam laughed. Peter looked over at Bucky, who was fiddling with the folder. Sam seemed to notice and asked, “You wanna do that now?”

“Yeah, better to get it over with now.”

“Before we do that, I think Natasha snagged something for you,” Sam hopped up, disappearing into the house. Peter tried looking at the papers, but Bucky had stood up, pacing in front of the fire. 

“Are you ok Bucky?”

“Yeah….” He sat down next to Peter, tilting the file so he could see its contents. Entire pages of notebook paper were filled up with small scribbles, though they were only a couple pages. Peter could see drawings behind those, to tops of what looked like people and machinery. “It’s a thing I do for therapy. It’s all stupid depressed things I think automatically when I’m mad or upset. Steve makes sure I write it and don’t try to take it out on something or--...or someone. It works, and then every couple of sessions,” Bucky gestures toward the fire. “I just burn it. Throw all this shit in here…”

“...Does it work?”

“Yeah, a lot. I’ll probably be going until the day I die, but it helps.” Peter nodded and sat back, avoiding Bucky’s gaze. Sam ran back out with a paper in hand. Both of them stood up as Bucky grabbed it. 

“It’s the original. Nat found it and gave it to me. Thought you might like to toss it in with the others.” Bucky opened the cover pages. All Peter could make out was the sketch, some sort of chair. He didn’t know what it was, but Bucky had started shaking, knuckles becoming white from his tight grip. Not knowing if it would help, Peter gently laid a hand on his shoulder, finger running over the seam between flesh and metal. It seemed to work, as he could see a bit of tension drift out of his stance. 

Bucky walked over to the fire, pulling the papers out of the folder, setting it aside. Sam quietly walked back inside as one by one, Bucky let the papers drift out of his hands and into the fire. Each paper lit the flame a bit more, sparks and ash floating up towards the sky. Sam came back after the last paper had been burned, Bucky wiping away a few tears. He handed Bucky a beer and Peter tea. Apparently, everyone had found out about his tea obsession after Tony caught him and Bruce gushing about their favorites. They all sat down, Sam and Bucky talking about Bucky’s week, asking the normal therapist questions.

A while later, Peter didn’t know how long it had been, someone poked their head out through the screen door. Peter didn’t recognize them, but Sam waved him over. He was short, even more so than Peter, and had light brown hair. The closer he got, Peter could make out the freckles practically coating his face. He smiled at Sam and waved at the Peter and Bucky. 

“Sorry to disturb anything, but I couldn’t find Theo’s boxes upstairs.”

“That’s fine. Peter, Bucky, this is Francis. He’s a friend of a friend. I think you’ve met Bucky before. Peter is...a family friend. I’ll be right back guys,” Francis waved once more before running into the house with Sam. When Sam came back, he laughed at the confusion still left on the two’s faces.

“His boyfriend used to live me with. I was helping him adjust back after honorable discharge. They moved in together and he just needed a couple boxes.” They both nodded and continued with some random conversation. After the sun had set and the fire died out, Bucky stood up. 

“We should get going, get the kiddo to bed.” Peter was curled up in the chair, softly snoring. 

“Yeah...you know, he reminds me of you, and Steve.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, the whole ‘I have good intentions but horrible luck’ schtick. He’s like if you actually had a child.”

“Yeah….I guess he does.”


	26. Avengers exclusive

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> classic field trip cliche cause wHY NOT
> 
> -@ever_fandom on twitter-

To say he was excited, well, that was a complete lie. His first week back at school had gone smoothly; all his work was caught up, Flash had, for some reason, backed off of him, and he had had any freak out problems yet. He surprised both himself and Bucky when the week was over and nothing had happened. It was his third period on Friday when it happened. 

The teacher had held them back to pass out a paper. Not just a paper, a permission slip, to go to the Tower of all places. MJ smirked at him from across the room, knowing his this would probably turn out...not well. After the class dismissed, both MJ and Ned came up to him.

“This is gonna be great,” MJ said. 

“This is the last thing I need.” 

“It’ll be fine Peter,” Ned reassured him. They continued towards the lunch room, Peter stuffing the paper into his backpack.

 

\----------------

 

Peter was practically dead on his feet by the time he got home. He had hung out with Ned and MJ after school and they ended up just walking around. They all bought a bit of food and some random knick-knacks. Ned’s mom had offered to drive him home and he gladly accepted. She had found out about his new...living arrangements after he told Ned. He was fine with it, as he knew she wasn’t for gossiping. She said goodbye to him as he went through the private doors, all the way back to the elevator. When the door opened, he saw Bucky sitting on the couch and reading a book. He looked up when Peter dropped next to him, face stuffed into the couch.

“You have fun?” 

“Mphm,”

“Well, Steve’s making dinner with the others, Spaghetti and meatballs.”

“Cool,”

“Hey, Peter,”

“Yeah?”

“Do you wanna be my best man?” Peter sat up, all his attention now directed at the man. He was still reading his book but had glanced up to see Peter’s reaction. Peter was shocked, to say the least. 

“Really?”

“Yeah, I mean, you don’t have to but-”

“Of course I want to!” He might’ve said that a bit louder than necessary. “I just-...I guess I assumed you’d pick someone else.”

“Nah, you’re the only one I really trust to do anything around here. Plus, I expect you to throw an amazing bachelor party.”

“But you don’t like parties and I don’t drink.”

“Yeah, but you know I don’t like that kind of shit. Literally, we could have a movie night and I would be perfectly fine.” They both laughed and Peter moved to drop his head on Bucky’s stomach. He set the book down and stuffed himself farther into the couch. Neither one talked, settling into a comfortable silence before someone eventually called for dinner. 

 

\----------------

 

The weekend flew by, Peter practically forgetting about the trip. Monday morning, it practically slapped him in the face. Usually, both Bucky and Steve were making breakfast, but this morning, Tony was placing some bagels in the toaster. It was rare that someone else was on this floor, not totally unheard of, but rare. Tony spotted him and smiled, passing a plate with two bagels already on it. 

“Hey Underoos, Dad one and Dad two had to sort out something-”

“Are they ok?”

“Yeah, everything's fine. Just a bit of a rough morning. Capsicle had me come up to make sure you got to school.” Peter nodded and ate the bagels, tossing his bag on the counter.

“So, when is your class coming?” Peter practically spat his food out.

“U-Uh, I don’t know, after first period. Can you guys, like,  _ not _ be insane with my class?”

“Well, I can’t exactly promise anything about the others, and you know about my naturally flamboyant personality. Pepper, however, knows which means you might get let off a little less.” Peter sighed as Tony just smirked, getting crumbs all over the counter. He jumped up suddenly, scaring the hell out of the boy. “Com’on kiddo, don’t want you to be late. It’s my responsibility as your uncle to get you there safe and sound.”

“That’s the Stark motto; safe and sound,” Tony slapped him lightly on his shoulder, pushing him towards the door. He got to school relatively quickly, making an exaggerated wave before pulling out of the lot. His first period wasn’t eventful either, just going over safety precautions for the trip. It was kind of annoying that he had to drive all the way to school just to go back home, but no one knew about his family except a couple teacher, Ned, and MJ. He braced himself when Flash sat directly behind him on the bus. He could feel the breathing on the back of his neck. 

“Hey Penis, you still work with Stark?”

“Technically.”

“The hell does that mean?” Peter stayed silent. Flash was about to yell something else, but MJ glared at him, shutting him up. Pulling up at the Tower, everyone ooo-ed, and ahh-ed. Peter just shrugged his backpack back on, dreading the day to come. Someone lead them to the front desk, the high ceilings and large windows impressing everyone besides the trio. A tall woman walked up to the group from behind the desk, smiling so artificially it made Peter’s own face hurt. 

“Good morning everyone, my name is Ella. I will be your tour guide for today. I will call your name, when I do, please come to collect a pass.” She read through the list, everyone giddy at the ‘high tech’ key cards. After she had called the last name, Peter was still left without a card. Of course Jarvis wouldn’t assign him one, as it would be pointless. She seemed to spot him from the back and walked right in front of him. Peter could hear Flash snickering behind him.

“Did you get a pass Mr.-?”

“Peter Parker.” She went through the clipboard before sighing.

“I have you here, but there wasn’t a pass made for you.”

“I don’t need one, I work here.”

“But-”

“It is true Mrs. Madden,” Jarvis lit up on the screen behind him. Everyone gasped, including the guide. “Mr. Parker will have the necessary codes to proceed with the tour. Have a good day,” The blue line disappeared and the rest of the class whispered, trying to hide their stares. The guide gave a small huff and a glare before going back to the front of the group. MJ  elbowed his shoulder, pointing towards Flash. He stood dumbstruck, still staring at the wall. One of his friends came up and pushed him to the security check. He kept to the back of the group, ending up last for security. Fortunately, the guard recognized him and passed him through quicker than the others. 

For the first hour or so, she led them through the showcases that Tony kept for school tours like this. He had seen all of this before, he’d even built and or destroyed some of it. His classmates were actually drooling at one of the suits. Peter recognized it as a fairly recent model that had been totally not his fault it broke. He wasn’t the one who happen to spill water into it  _ while _ it had been opened up. Other than that, there was only a couple of scratches. 

Suddenly, the screen next to the suit went dark, the blue line of Jarvis replacing the ‘fun facts’. 

“Hello, my name is Jarvis. I am Mr. Starks personal AI system and run the Tower. Mr. Stark would like to formally invite your class to an exclusive training session with the Avengers.” And there was the Stark he knew. It had been way too quiet. The guide looked almost as shocked as Peter. Ned looked at him from across the room, silently questioning him, but he could only shrug. He had no idea what was actually planned, how many of the Avengers were in on it. “Mr. Parker, Sir asks you to please use your clearance is to lead your classmates to the private elevator, training floor 3.” Peter nodded, slowly pushing past his classmates to the front, twisting his way to the elevators. People kept trying to ask him questions, but Mrs. Madden was like a wall, glaring at him the entire time. She must’ve been upset about a sixteen-year-old having higher clearance, but she wasn’t the worst part. They had to take multiple trips in the elevator, and of course Flash would squeeze right next to him. He was pretty much yelling right into his ear, but he kept his head down, opting to just hold MJ’s hand tightly. Just outside the elevator, Tony was waiting outside the glass doors. He spread his arms open wide, greeting everyone.

“Hello, less-mature-adults. As you most likely know already, I am Tony Stark, also known as Ironman. Today is your lucky day! My friends and fellow Avengers happen to be working on some training exercises. They also happen to be in a good enough mood to answer some questions. Let us enter the gates to your heaven!” Tony made an exaggerated motion of flinging open the doors. Inside was pretty empty, as this floor wasn’t used often. Nat and Clint were in a boxing ring. Nat seemed to be wearing some new suit and Bruce was standing off to the side, watching intently and writing notes on a clipboard. Steve was watching too but had walked over to greet Peter's classmates. Peter stood back, nudging Tony’s arm.

“You could have had Jarvis do everything. I didn’t need to use my codes,”

“Yes, but I thought your classmates could see how cool you are. Knowing me makes people pretty famous Petey.” Peter just scoffed, anything else would feed the man’s ego. “Why don’t you go talk to tinman over there.” Peter did a complete one-eighty. Bucky was sitting against the wall, nothing blocking the man as he hid in plain sight. He was eating a bowl of cereal, a book sitting on his lap. He seemed to have taken the arm off, the left sleeve of the hoodie tied up. The hood itself was pulled over his head to, his hair blocking the rest of his face. He’d go back and forth between eating and flipping the page. 

Peter waited until the rest of the group was distracted by Steve to pay attention to him. He slipped over to Bucky, sliding down the wall next to him. Bucky glanced up at him, smiling slightly. Peter could see the bags under his eyes, deep purple contrasting his pale face. 

“Are you ok? Tony said something happened this morning,”

“I’m fine...just, rough night.” Peter hoped he would elaborate, and it took a minute before he looked back at Peter. “I-...I couldn’t, remember...Steve woke me up from a nightmare, and for a split second, I just could remember who he was.” Peter nodded. He knew that those kinds of things still happen, especially when he was stressing over something.

“Why are you down here then?”

“Clint got all excited about you guys coming over and convinced everyone to come down here. I thought I’d come, see you…” Peter smiled and leaned his head onto Bucky’s shoulder, making sure his class was still paying attention to something Clint was ranting about. Peter grabbed the bowl and ate a couple bites before setting it back down. Bucky was staring at Steve when Peter tapped his knee.

Without looking over, Bucky asked, “How much do you think he’d get embarrassed if I yelled at him?” Peter couldn’t help but laughing. Bucky looked at Peter, back at his book, setting it down next to him, and yelling,”Hey! Captain Dumbass!” 

The room went silent before both Tony and Clint busted out laughing. Everyone was now looking and Bucky and, in turn, Peter. Steve’s face flushed as he walked over, politely dismissing the students.

“What Buck?” Bucky smiled up innocently.

“Can you grab me one of the heating pads from over there?” Steve looked back and forth between the two, trudging over to the shelf less than ten feet away. He grabbed one of the heating pads and tossed it at him. Peter ducked as Bucky caught it, turning it on and setting it up on his left shoulder. 

“I owe you Stevie,”

“No, you don’t.” Steve walked back over, but everyone still stared at Peter, mostly Flash. Anytime Peter looked up from his conversation, Flash was glaring at him. Bucky was a much better alternative then his class, save Ned and MJ.

 

\----------------

 

Peter was in the lobby when Bucky suddenly came up next to him, dropping into the empty space on the couch. They were forcing him to come back to school, even though they knew he lived here. MJ had offered him a ride and he had accepted, apologizing for the long ride. Ned had stopped talking, noticed the look on the mans face, and excused himself to talk with MJ. 

“Sorry, Jarvis said you were still waiting for the bus.”

“That’s fine, where’s everyone else.” Bucky eyed the window and Peter saw the Quinjet slowly take off. “Oh,”

“Got a lead on something Hydra related, I don’t know. Steve told me to stay here and he left to get ready and I panicked and asked where you were.” Bucky had held his breath at the end, only letting it go after Peter leaned into him. 

“That’s fine. I’ll have to get back on the bus, but I should be back in an hour.”

“Ok.”

“Are you gonna be ok?”

“I think.”

“Well, you can stay until the bus comes.”

“Ok.”

“Do you want to see if Ned can come over to hang out later?”

“...yes please…”


	27. Honeymoon-ing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> peter bean misses his fam + tony is the soft uncle 
> 
> -@ever_fandom on twitter-

It was weird, being alone. Well, Peter wasn’t completely alone. He still had almost all of the Avengers with him, but Bucky was gone, off on honeymoon with Steve. They deserved it, a vacation from all of this. Peter was just used to being around Bucky so that when he suddenly wasn’t there, he didn’t exactly know what to do.

Ned and MJ came by more often, all of them hanging out in the living room or in Peter’s lab. The others had come up with a schedule on when to drop off and pick up Peter from school, as the job usually went to Steve and Bucky. Dinner’s had become more take out then someone cooking. Overall, nothing had changed.

With one exception; nights kinda sucked. 

He was fine, but nightmares were still too frequent. Both Peter and Bucky knew, but he knew how much it meant for them to have time off and spent half an hour convincing him it would be ok. 

Peter was fine for the first couple of days. After that, when he’d wake up shaking and in tears, he’d grab a blanket and go to the living room, watching tv quietly until it lulled him back to a rough sleep. When that stopped working two or three days later, Peter would go into their bedroom. He had slept in there enough times to find the soft blanket Bucky kept to himself and the heated pillow Steve keeps under the normal ones. Jarvis had tried to convince him to go get one of the other Avengers, but he denied each time. He could make it through two weeks, not even that long. 

The last two nights had been particularly bad. He hadn’t even tried to go back to sleep, instead, going to his lab. There, he worked on his suit. Peter made several upgrades within the next forty-eight hours. At exactly six pm, two weeks later while walking down the hallway, Peter straight up passed out. Jarvis immediately told Tony, who ran up to the floor. 

“What happened J?” Tony picked him up bridal style, heading towards the boy's room.

“It appears that Mr. Parker has gone an extended period without proper sleep.” 

“How long?”

“Just over two days, Sir.”

“Is he hurt anywhere?”

“Scans shows a small bruise forming on his arm and side, but nothing severe, Sir.”

“Jesus,” Tony sets the boy down on the bed, pulling up the cover and sitting on the edge of the bed. “Let me know if something like this happens again,” Just as he’s about to get up, Peter wraps an arm around his side, his nose poking him.

“Dun’ go…” Tony sighed.  _ I’m the best uncle ever,  _ Tony thought to himself. The man pushed himself farther into the bed, moving Peter so that he wasn’t suffocating under a blanket. Peter ended up lying almost on top of Tony, his head avoiding the arc reactor. 

Tony didn’t go to sleep, perfectly fine with relaxing to the sound of soft snoring. A couple hours later, he smiled at the sound of the doors opening, luggage being dragged through the hallways. He wasn’t worried about Peter waking up, but it was still funny to listen to them attempting it. The door was almost closed, but he could make out the shadow of the two men walking past. After a few minutes, the door was pushed open slowly. Bucky poked his head in, smiling at the sleeping child.

“Hey,” he spoke softly as he got closer, running a hand through his hair. “Jarvis said he wasn’t sleeping well, everything ok?”

“Yeah, just went on a binge and passed out. He’s not hurt, but he’ll probably be asleep for a while. How was your trip back?”

“Fine, we both slept on the way back so we’re good. Anything try to kill everyone while we were gone?”

“Nope, had a nice, relaxing couple of weeks.” Bucky nodded, keeping his gaze on Peter.    
“Here,” Tony slid out from under the kid, motioning for Bucky to take his place. It took a minute, but Bucky was able to adjust himself under Peter without waking him up. Tony saluted them before walking out, closing the door softly behind him. Peter woke up a couple minutes later, though only half awake, after rolling slightly onto Bucky’s metal arm. He looked up, eyes, blinking rapidly.

“Bucky? When di’ you get home?” 

“Just a while ago, now go back to sleep short stack.”

“M’kay…” Peter went back to sleep right away. Bucky smiled and let the boy curl into him. He loved the time away, but god damn it if he didn’t miss Peter. Steve came in later, sitting down next to Bucky. “I think he slept in our room?”

“Really?”

“I think so, yeah. Sheets are messed up,”

“...Hm...adorable,”

“Yeah,” 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

\----------------------------

 

 

Sort-of-preview for next chapter 

Peter saw Steve sitting on the couch and walked up to him, wringing his fingers together nervously. “Hey Steve,” He looked at Peter, taking his head out of his hands.

“Hey, Pete.” If Peter hadn’t overheard the yelling, he would’ve just assumed Steve was tired. He had been in his room when Steve came back from a mission, one Bucky didn’t go on. Something about not needing everyone. Only Nat and Steve had gone, but the only people who knew about what they were doing was Tony. Not Bruce, Clint, not even Fury. Once Steve had come back, Bucky started going off on him. It started out as just going back and forth, but eventually, it grew into a screaming match. Steve wouldn’t say anything about the mission and Bucky was upset. He heard something about Hydra before he put in his headphones, mostly drowning out the noise. After he heard the door slam shut down the hall, Peter decided to poke his head out. From his room, he could just make out the living room.

Steve was sitting on the couch, rubbing his hands over his face. Peter gave him a minute before walking out.

“Is everything ok?”

“I don’t know Peter,” Peter could see him starting to shake, so he sat down next to him. Steve smiled at him sadly and sighed.

“There’s something going on with Hydra, possibly trying to activate something…”

“What is it?”

“Can’t say, but I can’t let it happen. Nat and I are just trying to get information.”

“Why can’t you explain it to Bucky?”

“Cause if he knows, then he’s gonna want to fix it on his own. Or he’ll get more angry…”

“Oh,”

“Sorry about the yelling, I know-”

“It’s fine, just go makeup before he locks you out.”  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the preview is sort of foreshadowing for next two chapters. THE NEXT COUPLE CHAPTERS ARE GONNA BE A LOT AND YOU MIGHT HATE ME BUT ILL MAKE UP FOR OT AFTER !!!!!!!!!!


	28. The Shatter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> lol, you all thought Peter was gonna die.  
> think again bitches 
> 
> -@ever_fandom on twitter for memes and updates-

The room quieted down as Peter walked in, wearing a hoodie over his Spiderman suit. As he took his seat next to Bruce and Bucky, the latter spoke up. “Why is Peter coming?”

“He’s coming because we might need back up.” Tony pulled up a hologram and pushed it to the middle of the table. “Hydra base, we don’t know exactly what’s there, but it’s bad and it needs to be destroyed. We know it’s being held in the basement level, heavily guarded by both system and soldiers. Jarvis can bypass most of the security, but once we get into the building, they’ll know. We need eyes and ears, inside and out.” Tony showed them where all the weakest spots were. Steve stepped up from the other side of the room. They hadn’t fought since the last time, but things got tense every now and again. 

“Sam and Bucky, you’ll be up first and in charge of taking the first line down, then Natasha and I will go in and to the basement. Tony and Rhodey will be up in the sky keeping watch. Banner, you can stay in the jet unless we need Hulk, other than that, you’ll be helping Tony with keeping an eye out. Peter, stay on the edges and web up who you can; you’ll be watching if reinforcements are coming and intercepting anyone trying to get out. Everyone got it?” The others nodded, already heading out towards the jet. Steve walked over to Bucky, keeping him in the room for another minute. Peter walked with the others, but could still hear the conversation with his hearing.

“Buck, everything is going to be fine,”

“It never is.”

“Hey,” it was quiet for a second. “Love you, Buck,”

“Love you too, now let’s get going before Stark comes back.” Peter faked a gag, forgetting Sam walking right next to him, “Everything good?”

“Yeah, just gross love stuff.” Both laughed, not knowing how long it would be till they laughed again.

 

\---------------

 

The first half of the mission went well, they got in just like they planned, Steve and Nat being able to hold off on the guards stationed there. He had caught sight of them carrying something in, but they were gone quickly. Peter was just inside the fence, currently webbing a trio of guys behind a particularly large pallet. From the corner of his eye, he could see Sam fighting off a couple of Hydra soldiers, Bucky right next to him. 

“ _ You got a 3 coming in at eight o’clock Pete, _ ” Bruce said through his comms, and he was able to knock the guys out less than a minute later. 

“ _ How’s it going in there, Cap? _ ” He could see Tony hovering above the roof, trying to spot any stragglers. When Steve came on, his breathing was fast and jagged. 

“ _ Fine, we’re down, but we got a lot on our tail. _ ”

“ _ Nat ok?” _

“ _ Yeah, she’s holding them off on the other side. Comm’s going in and out right now. _ ”

“What next?” Peter asked. Before someone answered, something big fired from inside, enough to where they could feel it from where he was stood. He could see the building already start to break apart and settle back down. He looked around, perhaps, trying to find someone running. He suddenly realized there was almost no one outside, the only faint noise coming from in the building. Peter did one final sweep over his rea before sprinting over to Bucky and Sam. 

“Steve?!” Bucky was panicked.

“ _ Shit! Na-”  _ Everyone waited for the comm to come back on, the crackling of static way too loud. Steve came back on after a minute, background noise making it hard to hear.

“ _ Steve! You gotta finish up there! We’re taking out what we can but there’s too many inside already!” _

“ _ Nat’s on her way out now,” _

_ “You too Ice-pop, we-” _

_ “Can’t. Nat was already outside when that thing went off. I managed to block the doors, but this needs to be set up before they get in.”  _

“What are you setting up Steve?” Bucky’s tone was cold, but Peter could see he was holding back something, a scream maybe. Neither Tony nor Steve responded, but instead, Nat came up. She was bruised and bleeding, favoring her right leg as she got closer. “It’s a bomb…” 

  
  
  
  
  


“ _ Buck-” _

“Steve, get your ass out of here.”

“ _ It’s almost set up-” _

_ “ _ I don’t care about your stupid fucking bomb.”

_ “Buck just--  _ **_timer activated, one minute remaining_ ** _.”  _  they all paled. There was no way he could get out, especially if he was cornered. Everyone was together besides Tony, still trying to find a route in.

“Steve…” The others were all yelling at him through their comms, trying to get some sort of plan together. The only ones who weren’t saying anything were Bucky and Peter, only because Peter felt like he’d throw up if he said anything. He could still hear him too, Steve switching over to a private line with Bucky. He could hear ragged breathing and yelling in the background.

“ _ Bucky, you need to listen to me,” _

“I will once you come out.”

“ _ You know there’s no way,” _

“...I wish I could fucking hate you.” 

_ “I know, sorry... _ **_forty-five seconds_ ** _.” _

_ “ _ Did you ever plan on getting out? Or are you just sacrif-”

“ _ Bucky….if it helps, I really wasn’t planning on this. _ ”  
  
  


 

 

“ **_Thirty seconds_ ** _.” _

_ “Buck, I love you, so fucking much…” _

_ “ _ Don’t, tell me when you get back.”

“ _ P-Please Buck,”  _ Suddenly, part of the building blew up, not big, but an entire section had crumbled. “Steve?!” It took a minute for the ground to settle, but he could just make out Steve’s voice through the noise.

“ **_Ten seconds_ ** _.” _

“Steve, just-”

“ _ Bucky, I lov-” _

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

**boom.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry this one is shorter, part 2 will be longer XD


	29. In my time of mourning part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> y'all know what time it is,,,,,,featuring a momma Nat and soft Thor 
> 
> -@ever_fandom on twitter !!-

There was no screaming, no dramatic falling to the floor. In fact, from that point, everything was hazy for Peter. 

He saw the bright flash of the explosion, a massive cloud of dust and rubble. He had put his mask back on, hoping to not choke on the dust. He saw Nat practically fly past him, slamming into a piece of rubble and Clint going to help her up. 

Bucky….he just, stood there. He didn’t even move as the shockwave cave, blasting the rest of them back. Peer expected him to maybe try going in, anything, but he stood there. Peter walked up to him, holding his side tight. He was pretty sure it was bleeding, but it didn’t seem bad at the time. 

Peter hobbled up, gently pulling at his elbow. Still no budge. 

“B-Bucky?” When there was still no response, he turned the man around, having to use what little strength he had. Bucky’s face….it was just blank. Not sad or angry, just…..nothing. He wouldn’t even look Peter in the eyes. 

“Bucky?” Peter didn’t want to think..he….needing to know, Peter looked Bucky dead in the eyes, waiting until the man looked down, even for a second. “ Зима?”  _ (Winter?) _ It was the one thing Bucky had told him about, ‘just in case’. 

“Нет…”  _ (No…) _

“B-Bucky, we need to go-”

“Я не уйду.”  _ (I will not leave.)  _ Peter tried pulling him back, but Bucky’s feet were firmly planted to the ground. The more Peter tried pulling, the worse his side felt. After pulling a bit too hard, Peter let go, hissing at the flare-up. As he let go, Peter tripped over something on the ground, falling flat on his ass. Sam came up behind him and helped him up. He noticed the cut on his side and pressed a rag to it. Sam started to carry him away, but Peter struggled against it, trying to get back to Bucky. 

“S-Sam, I h-have to-”

“Someone else would get him, we have to go before someone else comes.” Sam supported his side. Peter had passed out before he made it to the jet, the last thing he saw being Nat pushing Bucky away from the carnage. 

 

\----------------

  
  


Two days later, Peter woke up on in his own bed, bandages wrapped tightly around his right wrist and his side. He tried sitting up, but an arm pushed him back down. Bruce was looking him up and down, doing some sort of mental checklist, nodding to himself and writing something down on a notepad.

“How are you feeling Peter?”

“B-Been better….” 

“Good, I’ll have to come back in an hour or so to re-wrap your side and your wrist. After that, you can go back to a normal bed.” Bruce smiled and set the clipboard down, about to walk out.

“Bruce? Uh, where is everyone else?”

“Tony is down the hall with Rhodey, fractured his leg after the..after the explosion. Nat is probably sleeping. Sam and Clint went down to see Jane, try to get a message to Thor. Pepper is on her way now.”

“So...hes-....”

“I'm sorry Pete..” Bruce walked out, looking down at the floor. Peter laid back, messing with the edge of his sheets. “Jarvis,”

“Yes, Mr. Parker?”

“Where is Bucky?”

“Mr. Barnes is currently on his own floor, he activated lockdown yesterday morning. I do recommend you stay here until Dr. Banner returns. I have alerted Mr. Barnes that you are awake.”

“Thanks, Jarvis,” but Bucky didn't come. Peter stayed awake until Bruce came back to change his bandages. He expected to be let in, but Jarvis had told him that Bucky was on lockdown for everyone. After five more minutes and a final reassurance Bucky was ok, he went to the communal floor. He grabbed a blanket from the chair and curled up on the couch, sinking into the corner. 

The others came through, stopping to say hi and ask how he was. No matter how much he tried, he couldn't sleep either. He was still sitting in his spot at midnight. No one had called him down to dinner, so he just sat there, mindlessly watching cartoons. At one, Nat came in and sat next to him. She was wearing shorts and a sweatshirt, looking like she had just woken up. 

“Aren't you going to bed?” he shook his head, pulling his knees tight into his chest. She dropped down next to him, reaching up to pull the blanket away from his face.

He had been crying, though he hadn't noticed himself. His eyes were red and puffy, making the bags underneath much more prominent. “Oh, Peter…” as soon as she wrapped her arms around him, a dam had broken. Full out sobs tore their way out of the kid, echoing into the living room. Nat pulled him into her chest, softly rubbing his back. After his last buff had subsided, she smiled down at him. 

“You know, I think my bed is a lot better than this couch, what do ya say?” he nodded weakly, letting himself be pushed towards the elevator, through Nat's floor. 

He had never really been there before, besides one time he helped carry some bags into the living room. It was nice, a couple of pictures to decorate the walls and nothing else. She led him to the bedroom, a large bed pushed against the wall and covered with dark red sheets. He let himself fall into the bed, Nat nudging him until he was in the middle of the bed. 

“Jarvis, can you let Bruce know Peter will be sleeping here tonight,”

“I can go bac-”

“Nope, just go to sleep.” 

So he did.

 

\----------------

  
  


Thor came a couple days later, Saturday afternoon. Peter had actually gone to school and it was the most exhausting thing ever. Only his friends knew about his family, so Flash was as annoying as ever. That particular day, he had ‘accidentally’ dumped his lunch on Peter. On Pot-pie Day. He had shuffled out to the bathroom with Ned, watching MJ yell at him from the corner of his eye.   

He had tried to get it off as much as he could, but with a change of clothes, it was useless. He scrubbed off as much as he could, covering his shirt with Ned sweatshirt. Peter had refused to call home, determined to get through the rest of the day. By the end of his last period, he smelt like old chicken and was on the verge of tears. Ned and MJ were the ones who helped him, taking most of his notes when is hand was shaking too much and both taking the subway with him. The separated outside the tower, Peter worming his way through the busy crowd in the lobby. Tony greeted him, limping from the chair over to Peter, though he faltered at the smell of Peter. The boy smiled politely and went to the elevator, one more incident away from having a full-out breakdown. 

He practically ripped off the shirt, not even bothering to throw it in the laundry basket, tossing it in the trash. He went through his entire closet before settling on a baggy, blue sweatshirt, a Christmas gift from St-...

Peter walked into the living room, not wanting to go back to the others in the communal floor. He pulled his bag next to him and getting started on his absent work. He did a group call with Ned and MJ, all trying to figure out a physics packet before Ned had to leave for dinner. A couple of hours later, after they had finished, Peter wrapped himself up and turned on the Netflix. With Bucky still staying on is own floor, Peter stayed by himself.

Later, Jarvis had told him that Thor was in the elevator, asking if he could come in.

“Yeah…” Peter watched as Thor walked in, waving at him with a bright smile. 

“May I sit next to you?” Peter nodded. Thor sat down on his right, leaning back into the cushion. “I have heard what happened with Steven. The others said you seemed most afflicted, besides James. Would you like to talk about it?” 

“I mean...I don’t even know, what to say…”

“I understand. I have lost many friends and family, with the wars in Asgard. One thing that has always helped me was watching the view from my window. There was always a beautiful sunset that would help me relax, no matter how much trouble there was. I would have come sooner, but I believed this would help you.” Thor pulled out a small from out of nowhere, handing it to Peter. He could tell it was a painting, but it seemed to shift around as Peter moved it. It was bright orange, red and yellow, with spots of blue and purple along the edges. At the bottom, a city was painted in black and white, contrasting with the bright sky. “In Asgard, there is a hill on the border. If you go up for sunrise, it is one of the most beautiful sights I have seen. I had a local painter make this for you, as I do not a very artistic hand. I hope it helps you as it has me,” Peter was practically in tears. 

“T-Thank you Thor…” he set it down on the coffee table, staring at it as he went on., “I never had a normal family. I moved in with my aunt when I was four, then my uncle died and...a-and Riley happened. I'm so happy that I get to live with you all, but with St-Steve gone.....and you guys, I love all of you, but….sometimes, i-it just feels like e-everyone I love gets hurt, and there’s nothing that I-I can do….”

“Young Peter, you will always have a family. Though we are not blood, your family here will cherish your presence.” Thor clapped him on the back, smiling as always. “Now, how about we gather for dinner?”


	30. In my time of mourning part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter hits a small roadblock and Bucky gets his wakeup call
> 
> Get the tissues ready folks,,,,,
> 
> -@ever_fandom on Twitter !!-

A month went by. An entire fucking month. Peter went to school, spending most of his time at the tower. Eventually, he took his finals and finally got out to summer break. Somehow, everything seemed more empty. It just seemed like everyone went out more…

There was no funeral, the public didn’t even know. There was speculation, of course. People had noticed the sudden lack of Captain America at press conferences and sightings at the Tower. There were a couple rumors for two or three days, then things would die back down.

Peter hated it. He hated all of it. He hated it when he had to act like everything was normal if he wanted to go out. He hated that there was no funeral, and people had no idea.

He hated Bucky. He hates Bucky because he doesn’t really hate Bucky, but when he doesn’t come out for five weeks, it's hard for all parties. Peter understands why Bucky doesn’t want to talk, why he doesn’t want to come out, but it pisses him off. It pisses him off because he won’t even let someone, _anyone_ , help. But after a month of trying, and begging, and yelling, those doors were sealed shut. The other tried too, he remembers Natasha yelling one night for two hours.

Peter didn’t like the yelling. He could hear them all yelling at the door, ‘ _what about Peter’_ and _‘Peter can help you_ ’. He didn’t like the yelling because it reminded him of home. Whenever he heard someone yelling, Peter would go back into his bed and curl up, stuffing his head under his pillow. The past couple of days, he kept the heated pillow on him at all times, just carrying it with him around the floor.

Peter didn’t like going down to the communal floor either. Everyone stared at him with pity or sadness. It felt like when they found out about Riley. Now, he tended to avoid going down there, only grabbing food when his floor ran out. Ned and MJ didn’t come by much, Peter didn’t want to talk with them.

That was another thing. Another broken piece to the puzzle of Peter’s life. He didn’t like talking anymore. He talked to Jarvis a few times, but other then that, he kept to himself. He could tell the others were worried about him, but he just couldn’t talk to them. He still went to therapy with Sam, but that didn’t really help anymore. Nat and Bruce tried to sit him down and talk it out, but he didn’t like that either. Peter couldn’t handle the fake smiles and masks they had to where.

Sometimes, he just wanted to shout it out, let everyone know what happened. Tony had told him that they wanted to wait, make sure there was…..was a body or something.

So Peter moped. He slept most of the day and stayed up late at night, sometimes going out as Spiderman, sometimes just watching cartoons. Spiderman was freeing. He could go out as Spiderman and not worry about Peter Parker being some sort of burden. He went out as Spiderman more often than not, sneaking out when everyone was either asleep or too busy to notice.

One night, Peter had gone out at his normal time, around eleven. Karen tells him about some sort of robbery down a couple of blocks. He swings over, humming to himself as he lands on the roof. Peter does what he usually does and webs up the guy pretty easily. Peter helps the lady collect her things, but what he doesn’t expect is the smoke bomb.

It’s like being thrown back in time. Suddenly, he's back _there_ and he can't hear anything besides static and he can't see anything-

“Peter, your pulse is climbing at an unstable rate and your breathing patterns have changed drastically. I believe you might be having another panic attack, would you like me to call someone?”

There's too much dust and he's breathing it in, there's no sign of Steve and people are screaming in the background-

“I have alert Mr. Stark of your condition. ETA is one minute.” Peter shrinks back against the wall, trying to keep the dust out if his mouth. He can hear his own panicked breathing somewhere behind him, like he's not the one doing it.

He can hear when Tony lands a few feet from him, the repulsors quieting down as the suit unfolds around the man. He feels a hand on his shoulder and tried to jump away, but his body is still trapped in the smoke.

“Pete, can you hear me? Here,” Tony grabs his hand and he can't help but calm slightly and the rough calluses. “Squeeze my hand if you can hear me.” with a light squeeze of his hand, he is crouched down next to Peter.

“That's good Petey. You need to slow down your breathing. Remember those exercises Sam taught you?” Peter starts tuning into Tony's breathing, letting the screams and static fade back into silence. Even though Tony's breathing is uneven from the reactor, he listens and calms down. Once he's calm, Tony lifts his chin to look him in the eye. “What happened here underoos?”

“S-Smoke bomb,” Peter lets Tony figure the rest out, wiped from the last five minutes. Tony carefully moves him from the wall, into his own chest. The smoke is gone by then as his mask is lifted just over the nose. Tony gets back into the suit, gathering Peter in his arms and flying out of the alley, back to the Tower.

 

\-----------------

 

It's a couple days later when Peter goes out. He decides that he doesn't want one accident to cripple him, so he just goes out with his friends. He doesn't talk, but they don't care, as long as he can still play the arcade games. Peter spends the rest of the day out, sending a message that he would be eating dinner with Ned.

It's one of the best days he's had in a while.

Then it sort of gets ruined….sort of.

It's already late by the time he gets back. Most of the other Avengers are already asleep, save for Tony. He almost falls asleep in the elevator, leaning against the cool glass and scrolling through random tweets.

When he walks into the kitchen, he doesn't expect anyone there, and he really doesn't expect Bucky.

Peter was still technically mad. Not a single message for close to two months, and then bam, he's here. Peter drops his bag down, keeping eye contact him Bucky.

At the least, he looks terrible. His hair is thrown up in a messy ponytail, wearing a too-large t-shirt and baggy sweatpants. It looked like he hadn't gotten sleep in weeks, but since when had anyone gotten sleep.

Bucky stood up from his seat at the sight of Peter, a shaky smile that wasn't really there. “Hey Peter, can we talk-”

“About what?” Peter's voice was just as bad, scratchy and dry.

“Pete-”

“You're gone for two months and you decide to stop by now?”

“I just want to expla-”

“Explain what?! That you decided the best way to handle this was cutting yourself off from everybody? That you can do this by yourself? I was waiting for you to come back for a _month_ before I realized that you just weren't gonna come back, that instead of just losing one parent, I lost both?!” Bucky didn't defend himself as Peter got closer with each sentence. He continued looking at him with red eyes. Both of them were crying. “I was alone here, while you sat in the dark, even when you know damn well that wasn't good for either of us! All I could think about was everyone getting tired of the depressed kid! All I could fucking dream about was going back to Riley, while everyone I ever fucking loved either died or left! YOU DID NOTHING!”

Just like that Peter had been pulled into a hug, practically breaking his spine as he cried into the man's shoulder. All the hate, sadness, anger and grief came spilling out in sobs that could only echo through the room.

“I know I've been shit, and I can't apologize enough for being gone. And I want to explain to you, everything. I don't want to bullshit excuses, but please...I just want to explain,” eventually, Peter did nod. He just wanted to talk with Bucky again and not feel like shit anymore.

Bucky helped him sit on the counter, making Peter a head taller than Bucky. He rested his forehead on Peters' chest, trying to calm himself down as well as Peter.

“When we broke the trigger words, it wasn't like Winter just, disappeared. Really, only Sam, Tony and Ste-...Steve, know how it works. Me going back into that mindset, it's hard to get out of. It used to happen all the time, the littlest things pushing back. Now, it's rare, but it works the same. The bigger said emotional trauma is, the harder it gets to just calm down.”

“After….after Steve, I just….it was like a complete blackout. I could tell what I was doing, but every time I tried doing something, I just couldn't. I didn't have the energy to fight against, whatever, was happening. Jarvis kept telling me everything happening and everything with you and the more that went on, the more I just wanted to fucking see you. I don't even know if I've processed everything yet, but I can't keep hiding…” Bucky stopped, holding his breath for a moment.

“I finally just came out of it last night and I was going to talk to you this morning but you were going out and I didn't want to ruin everything-”

“It's fine,” Peter cut off his ranting before he started crying again. Bucky looked at him, disbelieving. “I forgive you.”

“You don't have to-”

“I want to...I'm tired of being sad. I just want to be happy again, please.” there's another hug that was too short for either of them and more useless apologizes said. Peter did truly forgive him, and he meant what he said. He just wants his family back.

They sleep together that night, Peter dragging his own blankets and pillows in, creating what could have been mistaken for a fort in Bucky's bed. It's the first time either of them slept soundlessly the entire night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, this was fun, wasn't it??


	31. When Ghosts come Back

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> sorry about this, bit of sad shit ahead
> 
> -@ever_fandom on twitter- !!

Things started to settle over the next week. Bucky had started coming out more, even though he avoided going outside. Peter was talking again, genuinely smiling after not for so long. It was as if everything had calmed down. Of course, they were all sad, but at least they talked about it. Bucky would have a bad day, but he’d go to someone, usually Peter, to either talk or just binge some tv. 

It was...getting better.

Peter in his Lab, laughing at Tony trying to use his web shooters. He was grumbling to himself, unable to press the button. “HOW?!”

“You have to have to push with at least eighty pounds of pressure-”

“Why eighty?!”

“It's so random people can just use them, at least, use them easily. I have them adjusted too, they fit my wrist perfectly and don’t adjust unless I do it myself.”

“That’s….smart.” Peter always found it funny when people tried to use his web shooters. He continued working, Tony in the corner of his eye. He watched as he tried using his suit to press down, but it made his wrist too big to fit. Then, the emergency lights came on. 

“Jarvis?” Tony was immediately on alert, taking off the suit.  

“My sys-sys-systems have seemed to have been hacked into. Emergency power has been activated.”

“What happened?”

“All power has been temporarily shut down. They have-have control over resident floors in the-the Tower, Sir.” 

“Well can you-” Suddenly, the lab went into complete darkness. The only light came from the glow of Tony’s arc reactor under his shirt. One screen, all the way to the far right wall, lit up, just bright enough to make out a silhouette, strapped to a table. Metal bands wrapped around bruised wrists, blond hair matted to a dirty fac-....wait, what the fuck….

“ _ Name?”  _

“ _...” _

_ “Name.” _

_ “......” _

_ “NAME!” _ Steve didn’t even flinch, but looked up, smiling up with bloody teeth.

“ _ You know, some of my friends call me ice cube, 'cause of the whole-”  _ a sharp slap shut him up. He lowered his head back down as the other man circled around him. Steve was still wearing his uniform, though most of it was either burnt or torn, the helmet gone. 

“J-Jarvis, when-”

“Already trying to trace it Sir, but they are still in my system.” Peter stayed tuned into the screen, Tony right behind him. He thought he heard someone banging on the door behind him, but he was too focused to open it. 

“ _ Do you know what we do here, Mr. Rogers?” _

_ “Same shit you did back then.”  _

_ “Almost,”  _ he pulled up a cart, some sort of metal case on top, “ _ We have the same goals, but with old information combined with new...experiments, we are much more advanced than you think _ .” The case popped open with a loud click. Doctor guy pulled out a syringe, filled with a sludge green liquid. Peter could see Steve tense, eyeing the syringe. The man leaned in close, but his voice was still loud enough for the camera to pick up.

_ “Now, if you are to become our new weapon, we really must fix you up.”  _

In the end, it was the screams that got to Peter. By the time the power had come back on, Peter was throwing up in the corner, ears still ringing.

 

\-----------------

 

They spoke in hushed whispers. Peter was curled up under a blanket on the couch, Bucky with him, pretty much cradling the boy. Everyone else was standing in a weird, half circle. The others had watched most of the video after someone dragged Peter out of the room and cleaned him up. Someone had set a trash bin on his other side, just in case. 

Peter could barely understand the conversation. There was too much jumbled in his head. Someone was talking about a search party, someone else, a tunnel. All of them were just trying to figure out how or why, some reason to feel less guilty. Bucky tapped his shoulder, catching his attention for a second. He, very softly, asked, “You ok?”

“....n-no…” 

“Yeah, I don’t think anyone is…” Peter saw Bucky’s hand tightening into a fist, knuckles turning white. 

“A-Are you ok?” 

“...I just want him back...the fact, that  _ they _ have him…….I want him safe..” Peter ducked back down, nuzzling his head into Bucky’s side. Peter fell asleep not even a minute later, his breath tickling the older man. “Can we trace it?” Bucky didn’t sound anything but tired, trying to be optimistic.  

“From my analysis and estimates, the video was recorded two to three days after the initial explosion.”

“W-What…...What are the chances he’s still alive?” Jarvis hesitated to answer.

“I calculate a fifteen percent chance of survival, as of now.” Bucky couldn’t stay there any longer. He stood up, reaching back down to left Peter as well. The kid was small, even when cocooned in the massive blanket. 

“I’m gonna….just, take Peter up to bed.” He didn’t wait for a response, heading straight toward the elevator. He refused to cry-....to give in front of them. The lights were just bright enough so he could get to the room, stepping over random clothes. Peter woke up a bit when Bucky laid him down, adjusting the blankets so he wouldn’t overheat. 

“Bucky?”

“Hey ya punk, go back to sleep,” Peter grabbed his arm suddenly. Bucky noticed the fear in his eyes. “Don’ leave…”

“I’m not leaving you, I’m just going to get you another trash bin and a cool washcloth. I’ll be right back.” Peter nodded and laid back, his grip loosening enough for Bucky to pull away. He hurried into the bathroom, grabbing a white washcloth and dampening it. He took the small bin next to the toilet and walked back into the room. Bucky placed the bin right next to the bed, making sure Peter could get to it if he needed. He threw off the shirt and pants, changing into shorts and a ratty t-shirt. He crawled in next to Peter, setting the washcloth on his forehead. Peter curls up tighter, Bucky practically surrounding him. 

Bucky was there when Peter woke up screaming a few hours later, reaching for the bin just in time. It took everything for Bucky to just sit there quietly, rubbing the kid’s back.  


	32. A Dream is a Wish your Heart Hates

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Someone has a not so pleasant dream 
> 
> -@ever_fandom on twitter- !!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING  
> this chapter has some nasty (bloody) bits in the middle, sorry, you have been warned

Just like that, it’s exactly like before. Everyone is quieter, no more loud conversations. Tony, Rhodey, and Bruce are always trying to trace that video, testing theories and numbers over and over. Clint was usually in the kitchen, stress cooking with Nat watching over him. Nothing ever turned out better than burnt. Sam was always there, Thor too. They would sit with one of the other “groups”, staying with Peter whenever he came down. 

Bucky was the worst off. He didn’t go totally into hiding, but he...kept to himself. He stayed in bed more often than not and stayed on the personal floor. He really only went down for his therapy with Sam and when Peter convinced him to come down for the rare family dinner. As the days grew into a week, and then two weeks. There were no more breaches or hackers, no anonymous videos that can’t be traced. People started losing hope, once again, even Peter. 

A possible lead came in that second week. Natasha had intercepted a possible communication between two undercover agents. She went with Clint and Bruce to check it out a couple days ago, off in some European country. Sam had gone on a family emergency soon after and Thor went back to Asgard for a couple of days, official business. When Peter came down for breakfast, Tony walked up. 

“Hey squirt, I need to pick up something for Pepper, wanna come?”

“Uh, first of all, don’t ever call me squirt, and second of all, why don’t you get them dropped off?”

“I can go outside when I want to.”

“But you don’t-”

“Just meet me in the garage if you want to come. You got five minutes squirt!” Peter watched him run off down the hallway, probably to the garage. He decided he needed air as well and went back into his room to change. He threw on his black joggers and his Midtown sweatshirt. Instead of waking Bucky up, he wrote down a quick note, complete with a small smiley face, and left it on the dresser. By the time he got back down to the garage, Tony was waiting in the car. The trip itself was really nice. It wasn’t too hot with his sweatshirt, there wasn’t a ton of people, despite it being summer. Tony actually was picking up a dress for her.

“Don’t look at me like that, it’s a gift.”

“For what?”

“Me being me...and, due to a complete accident, I kind of owe her a new dress.” Peter laughs and admires the dark red dress through the plastic cover. As they head back to the car, Jarvis calls Tony through his comm. 

“Jarvis?”

“Sergeant Barnes-Rogers woke up one minute ago in distress. I tried calming him down, but he didn’t seem aware of my presence. His distress led to a panic attack, which he is currently still in.” The two were already in the car, breaking most of the speed limits on the way to the Tower. 

“Is he ok?!” 

“From what I can see, his right arm has been injured and the right side, Sir.”

“Did he fall?”

“...Self-inflicted, Sir.” That practically drove Peter into a panic. 

“I-Isn’t Rhodey there?”

“Sergeant Barnes-Rogers manually barricaded the door upon waking up. Colonel Rhodes is still out for a meeting.” 

“Fucking hell…” Tony swerved around the corner, The Tower only a block away and closing. “Ok, don’t send a suit in, but get the door down, a suit could make things worse. I’ll get the first-aid, Peter?” Peter looked at the man, teary-eyed and trying not to hyperventilate. “Calm down. Go to Barnes, you can calm him down. Can you do that until I get there?”

“Y-Yeah,” Tony pulled into the garage, not bothering to get into a parking space, instead, stopping in front of the elevator. Tony got off at the Med-wing, a couple floors below Buckys. Walking in, the rest of the floor was clean.

Nothing looked out of place, exactly how Peter left it only an hour ago. Once he got to the bedroom, however, it got worse. Peter saw the iron man suit in front of the door, pushing it a good couple inches. Peter could make out the desk, lying sideways against the door. It stepped out of the way as Peter got closer, letting him push the rest open himself. 

Peter could make out the path of Bucky’s distress. The covers were thrown off the bed, a twisted pile on the floor. Everything that was lying on the desk was strewn all over the floor, papers and drawings, a couple of photos. There were drops of blood on the floor, gathering more and more up to the bathroom door. Laying right outside the door...it took a lot...for Peter to not throw up. 

It was Bucky’s metal arm. Peter knew he took it off sometimes when it was bothering him. But this, it was just, the hand was  _ covered _ , in blood. He could see bits…...just, bits of skin caught in between some of the plates. And it was just laying there, it’s hand clenched.

Peter carefully opened the bathroom door, stepping over the arm. 

Bucky was huddled in the bathtub, the lights just barely lighting the room. He was mumbling about something, too incoherent for Peter to make out, and scratching at his right hip. Looking over the edge of the tub, Peter could make it out. 

A brand. Harsh, red lines, outlining a large, blocky ‘H’. He saw Bucky scratching at it and tip-toed carefully to the tub.

“Bucky, please…” Bucky doesn't pull away when Peter reaches a hand down, stopping him from scratching the brand. “What happened?” he more asks himself, but the one thing he doesn’t expect is for Bucky to answer, hiccuping from sobs. 

“It...It was him..”

“Who?” But Peter already knew that answer. 

“He was there, at...at the base, a-and they had him tied up and he was... _ screaming,  _ but he was screaming...a-at me…...that i-it was my Fault, and I could do anything…..but then, he was coming a-after me with those fucking,  _ inhumane... _ torture..weapons…...and when I woke up, you were gone and I thought I could hear him a-and I can't fucking  _ do  _ this anymore!” He was gasping as Peter hugged him, the boy whispering reassurances into his ear. 

Tony came in, unfazed by the room and the state of Bucky. He pulled out a roll of gauze, a cloth, and a pair of rubber gloves. 

“Thought you'd want to stay here, avoid the whole Med-wing,” Tony said. He snapped on the gloves, gently grabbing Bucky's arm. He dampens it, Peter watching on the edge of the tub. Bucky didn't move against Tony as he washed away the crusted over blood, both on his arm and his side. Tony does his arm first, cleaning the rest before rubbing on the ointment and wrapping it up. He finishes his side, and packs everything up, throwing away the gloves. 

“I'll go get some extra bandages for later, but Bruce will want to know when he gets back. For now, you should eat,” Tony is about to leave but stops in the doorway. “If it's ok, I'd like to take the arm...for repairs.” Bucky doesn't even look up as he nods and Tony walks out, glancing at Peter. 

It takes two more minutes to get Bucky out of the tub. Peter sits him on the edge of the bed while he cleans up the room. He's grabbing the last pile of papers for the desk when Bucky starts talking again. 

“I'm sorry...You deserve a better parent than me.” Peter puts the papers down and sits next to him. 

“I don't want another parent. You and all the other Avengers are the only family I could ever need.”

“But-”

“No, lay down. I've only watched Moana once this week and that needs to change.” 


	33. to Give In or to Give Up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
> 
> -@ever_fandom on twitter- !! !

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this gets a bit nasty at the end, but i hope you enjoy the emotional trauma

They tried.

 

\---------------

 

_Too much water. Can’t speak. Too much._

_“_ _Объединять! звезда! аренда! солнце! вена! канал! цель!_ _пять!_ _выстрел! Пальто!”_

_Breath. Only for a moment. Just one breath. More water._

_“Soldat?_

_“....Fuck...you…..”_

 

\---------------

 

 

Oh boy, did they try.

 

\---------------

 

_“Double the dosage.”_

_“Sir, if you do that, it could permanently damage his wounds. It could completely compromise the healing from the last serum-”_

_“I DON’T CARE! We need some sort of response. We will not waste years like the last time. Double. The. Dosage.”_

_Shocks. More pain. Why is there so much pain? More shocks. More water. Everything is loopy…_

 

\---------------

 

He wanted to give in. He wanted to give in so bad, and just make the pain stop. But he couldn't. He knows if he does, gives into that promise of relief, they'll turn him into another weapon.

It kept him going. His own promise, to protect his family, his husband….his son. He promises to protect them from himself.

At this point, Steve can rebuild his cell. He knows every inch of it, every little notch and scratch in the wall. Every morning, or what he thinks is morning, the give him a tray, a sludge filled with a mystery meat and probably drugs. Exactly one hour later, they collect the tray and Steve. No one bothers covering his eyes. With a gimp leg and almost constantly drugged, he can't run. He doesn’t give in though. He never will.

After the daily torture and attempts to turn him, they drag him back. When he falls to the floor and the door slams behind him, surrounded by almost complete darkness, he pulls himself over into the corner. That's where he sleeps, a single, thin blanket covering him. He sleeps, sometimes he’ll cry, but most of the time he will tell himself stories of home. He thinks about family dinners, the early mornings where he skipped his run and just relaxed. One of his favorites is from a couple of months ago, after a Peter and Bucky had gotten back.

 

\---------------

 

_It had been a Friday. Ever since the double therapy sessions, it was just better for them to go together. Bucky had been out on Wednesday, so they had just rescheduled to Friday. Steve was in the kitchen when they got back. Bucky came up to him, but Peter had gone straight to his room._

_“Everything ok?” Bucky sighed and came up behind him. He felt an arm around his waist and a forehead on his shoulder, but he continued working on the food in front of him._

_“Long session. Some memories that were a bit too intense were brought up. He just needs a bit of sleep and probably some food, didn’t eat a lot while we were out.” Steve nodded and tried to avoid the worry that had begun setting in. Bucky stayed with him while he was cooking, making small talk, trying to steal pieces of meat when he thought Steve wasn’t looking. He ending up making Fettuccine Alfredo, a recipe Natasha had taught him._

_Peter didn’t come down for dinner, not after Bucky, Steve, and Jarvis had called him. The two ate mostly in silence, Steve eyeing the hallway._

_“You trying to get ‘im out with mind control?” Bucky was smirking at him, taking another giant, gross bite._

_“First of all, stop eating like that, it’s gross. Second of all, I’m just worried.”_

_“I know, but trust me. It was just a lot to unload, wore him out. He’ll be better by morning.”_

_“Yeah…”_

_“You can go bring him some dinner, see if he wants anything,”_

_“But-”_

_“I can clean up here, not much of a mess anyway. You go make him a dish.” Steve got up, carrying his dish to the counter. He grabbed a new bowl, putting in slightly less than Peter usually ate. Bucky pecked on the cheek on the way out, also trying to steal a piece of chicken. He missed._

_Steve walked down to Peter’s room, knocking on the door quietly. “Peter?” no answer. \_

_“Mr. Parker has his headphones in, though I would say you are ok to enter.” Steve opened the door slowly. When he peeked into the room, he was...caught off guard._

_Spider webs. A lot, of spider webs. They covered almost the entire upper half of the room, woven over each other like a platform. There were spots where Steve was able to poke his head through. Looking over, it was like Peter had made his own little bed. All of the blankets were taken off the bed and laid over the webs, hanging off the edge a bit. Peter was lying, his head on a pillow and another on his stomach. Trying not to scare him, he reached over as far as he could, tapping the boy’s foot. Peter jumped up anyway, headphones falling off._

_“Hi, sorry, just came to bring you dinner,” Peter relaxed instantly._

_“Oh, thanks,” Steve gave him the plate, but instead of leaving, he stared at the webs. “You wanna get on it?”_

_“Would it even be able to hold me?”_

_“It can hold a building together, I think you can get on it. You can use the bed to get up,” Steve climbed up on the bed, grabbing an edge and pushing himself up. There wasn’t as much give as he was expecting, but it was still wobbly. Peter sat criss-cross on the side, eating his food as he watched Steve worm his way over, eventually sitting criss-cross too._

_“How long did it take for you make this?”_

_“Only about an hour. I do it to relax sometimes, to focus on something other than….well, everything.”_

_“It’s…”_

_“Weird?”_

_“...Amazing. It like an actual spider web.” He saw Peter’s face flush but continued eating. Steve continued plucking at the strands. After a few minutes of silence, Steve saw him looking at his phone, frowning slightly. “Something wrong?”_

_Peter looked up quickly, “N-No...I’m fine…”_

_“Pete, you don’t have to lie.”_

_“It’s-...just, a kid.”_

_“Is he bad?”_

_“....kinda. He keeps messaging me,”_

_“What-”_

_“It’s nothing bad, really. He’s just mad I score higher than him…”_

_“Can’t you block him?”_

_“Whenever I do that, he just gets a new number.” Peter set the empty dish aside, lying back down. Steve lays next to him, hands still working with a piece of the web._

_“We can get you a new phone.”_

_“You don't have to-”_

_“If this kid is really bothering you, then it’s no problem. I’m not too good with that kind of stuff, but Stark can probably get you one of those new ones he’s working on.” Peter doesn’t respond. Instead, he curls up closer to Steve, an arm lying on his stomach. Steve wraps his arm around Peter, running his hand through the boy’s hair. He doesn’t say anything with he feels a bit of his shirt get wet, and he really doesn’t say anything when Peter falls asleep on him._

_Bucky totally doesn’t have a picture on his phone, ten minutes later, of Steve and Peter tangled up in blankets and pillows._

 

\---------------

 

Everything was holding up fine, but then it didn’t.

Another normal day, testing the serum they tried yesterday. His leg had been doing somewhat better, he could almost feel it. But when he woke up this morning, it was gone. No feeling, all the color was lost, it just dragged behind him as they led him to the table, strapping him on. He can’t feel them poking at it, but he can see.

“DAMN IT!” One of the doctors threw something at the wall, but Steve couldn’t tell what it was.

“Sir, the damage was expected-”

“ I KNOW! …..We don’t have a choice anymore. The heads called yesterday, said do what we must to get him prepped for the training. Get the equipment ready. We will install the plate.” The others started rushing around, pulling up machines and carts. Steve tried to get a look at it, but his head was strapped down too tightly. Leader guy came up right in his face, smiling.

“It’s too bad, really. It will take much longer to get you healthy after this. You will be _glorious_ ,”

  


 

 

 

They don’t bother giving him morphine.

 

 

 

And he feels it all, every cut, every snap of bone...everything

 

 

At that point, he gives up

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

But he does not give in

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "New" trigger words-- 
> 
> Объединять: unite   
> звезда: star  
> аренда: rent  
> солнце: sun  
> вена: vein  
> канал: channel  
> цель: target  
> пять: five   
> выстрел: shot   
> Пальто: coat


	34. The Ride back Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> intro Stevie
> 
> -@ever_fandom on twitter- !!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry this is kinda shit, idk why, but big oof

A lead. After all this time, they got a lead. After Nat, Clint and Bruce came back, they had called a meeting. Everyone was sitting in the conference room, waiting for one of them to say to something. No one brought up Bucky’s missing arm. 

Natasha walked in, dropping folders on the counter. They were passed around as Bruce pulled up a hologram over the table, a map of New Mexico.

“There weren’t any people, but we did find this. It’s a report about a new subject. He was transported two days ago, a small city in New Mexico. He’s supposed to be moved early tomorrow morning, but if we go soon, he can get in and out.”

“How do we know it’s him?” Tony asked.

“There’s a small physical description which matches, and a small part that says he already has a version of the serum.”

“But he doesn’t have a one-hundred percent confirmation that it is him?”

“It’s worth a shot. The transport areas have low-level guards, and they don’t know we have the location.” The map showed a little section of the state, no buildings, but one weird formation that was most likely the base. 

“Ok,” Tony stands up at the head of the table. “We should go tonight, sooner the better. I’ll take the lead with Natasha and Rhodey. Barton, I want you out front while we go in, neutralize anyone trying to get out. Bruce, you stay in the jet and get ready any med equipment we need-”

“What should I bring?”

“Anything that’ll fit. Don’t know what we’ll have.”

“What about me?” Bucky stood up. He pushed up with his right arm, his metal arm still on repairs. There were bandages from his wrist to his elbow. Even though he had healed a lot, it was still sore, sometimes a scratch would start bleeding again. 

“It’s best if you stay here…”

“You want me to stay here? Here?! I can help!-”

“As far as I’m concerned, both of your arms are injured. It would be easier if you stayed here, both you and Peter-”

“Bullshit! I’m coming-”

“No!” Both men were staring holes into the other, the rest of the room tensed. Bruce moved closer to the table, trying to separate the two. “They can come with me, in the jet. I’ll need help with the equipment.” Tony sighed, rubbing his face.

“Yeah….y-yeah, that’s fine. Sorry...Let’s just go, before we lose daylight.” Everyone, though still tense, left to gather their things. Twenty minutes later, Everyone was in the jet. Bucky sat towards the back, moving a couple cases over so Peter could sit. The kid wasn’t wearing his suit, knowing he would never be allowed to go in. Bucky sat next to him, mumbling something to himself. Peter didn’t say anything but kept a hand on Bucky’s, calming them both. 

The base was smaller than expected, barely the size of a house. Though he knew it was only a halfway house, Peter assumed that Hydra would have something more. The others left immediately, leaving Bruce, Bucky, and Peter to stay in the jet. 

 

\---------------

 

Inside, was practically empty. Only two guards, stationed by the front. It just seemed... oddly easy. Tony led the way, down the halls and into a basement. There were no lights on, but the glow from the Ironman suit let him find the switch. There was a hatch on the floor, secured with a padlock. Tony nodded to Natasha and she picked it, not wanting to risk someone hearing a shot. They all walked down the stairs, long and dark. Tony and Rhodey’s suits were barely able to fit. Once Natasha found the light switch, it flickered on. 

It was….it was just, fucking horrible. It was Steve, had to be. The guys build was almost exactly the same. Everything else…

He was chained up, arms and...a-and leg, locked together and hooked to a bar on the floor. There were bruises on his face, disappearing down the collar of a dirty shirt. It was the leg, though, that’s what got to them. It was just fucking  _ gone _ , mid-thigh. He could tell it was recent, scars still red. It looked like someone had just cut it off and wrapped it up a little. 

“Holy shit,” It was Rhodey who spoke up. Tony recovered first, stepping forward. ‘

“Unlock the chains,” Tony turned on the comms, “Bruce, I’m gonna need a gurney, or at least something along those lines.”

“ _ What’s wrong?” _

“Just hurry, and don’t let the other two in.”

_ “Got it,”  _  Tony got out of the suit, crouching down next to Steve. As soon as he got close, Steve pulled away, moving closer to the wall. His...stump, dragging on the floor. 

“Hey Cap, it’s just me. You’re safe now.” Steve continued moving away, eyes still closed tight. Bruce soon came down the stairs. There was a bit of hesitation at the sight of the soldier, but he continued to Steve. He laid out the foldable board, making his way toward Steve, “Get him unlocked.” Tony and Rhodey broke the chains easily. Steve continued moving away. Tony saw the scratches on his arms. 

“Steve, you might not like this, but we need to get you out.” Steve struggled, but they were able to move him onto the board. “Let’s get him out.” Steve’s whines slowly got louder, turning into sobs. Natasha had to hold him down, keep him from rolling off. They all helped carry him forward, but Tony separated once he saw Bucky and Peter waiting just outside the plane. 

“Is he ok?”

“You guys need to get back.”

“Stark-” 

“Just get back, near the front. Trust me, you don’t want to see him yet.” Bucky looked ready to fight, or just charge over, but he saw Peter grab his arm. He moved the man back towards the jet, walking back in. The others carried Steve to the back. Tony was about to start the jet when Clint came up behind him, “Bruce wants you in the back.” Tony went wordlessly, ignoring the looks from Bucky.

The back was more of a shit show than ever. Steve was lying on the table, arms and chest strapped down. The bandage was off, and Tony could see what they had really done. They hadn’t just cut it off. A metal plate was...installed. Probably nailed into the skin, some of the flesh had healed around it. On the plate, there was a small box, a couple of wires poking out. Bruce was moving around him quickly, gathering supplies. “I need your help. This plate...I think it might be rigged,”

“Rigged! Rigged with what?”

“I don’t know, but when I took this off,” Bruce grabbed the metal box, pulling it off like a shell. “It’s a capsule, I don’t know what’s in it, but it’s set to inject Steve unless the person who made it takes it off. I can’t figure out the wiring, but you might be able to. Whatever it is, we need to get it off.”

“Of course, they would...rig him…..these people are fucking disgusting.” Despite wanting to, well, throw up, he got to work. Helping Bruce, they worked on the plate. It was going fine, until they got to actually removing the plate. It was like something set him off. He tried getting out, but Tony was holding down his other leg. 

“Steve! Calm down! We’re on our way home!”

“....stop…...please..don’t…” His breathing went haywire, panic attack.

“Tones I need him still!”

“He won’t calm down! He probably thinks he’s still there…”

“Then get Bucky! He can help,” Tony was hesitant but called the man down. He was there in less than ten seconds, running down the hall. Bucky ignored the leg, going right to Steve. He calmed right away at the touch of his hand.

“H-Hey Stevie...it’s me..” Steve looked over, smiling. No one said anything when bucky started crying. “I know it h-hurts, but you’re safe now. You need to let us help, ok?” Steve did a sort of nod. Bucky stayed for the rest of the flight, never looking away from the man. The plate was still on by the time they got back to the Tower. Bucky was still with them going into surgery. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm hoping next one is better :)


	35. a Pulse

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the beginning 
> 
> -@ever_fandom on twitter-

Steve woke up exactly one week later, still drowsy. Bucky was at his side, as he had been ever since they arrived. He had to stay through the surgery. They couldn’t knock him out with normal drugs, and Steve wouldn’t calm down every other way. Peter was there too, sleeping at the window sill. Steve’s eyes opened slowly, blearily looking over at Bucky. The other noticed right away, reaching for Steve’s face. 

“Hey there Stevie,”

“...bucky?” 

“Here, drink this.” Bucky handed him a glass of water with a bright pink straw. Steve smiled, taking a small sip. Bucky set it next to him. Even Steve could see the bags under his eyes. 

“Wha…”

“You’re fine now, don’t worry. You should probably go back to sleep,” Instead of closing his eyes, he kept looking at Bucky, like he had found something. He leaned back, now gazing at the ceiling. “...t’s gone...isn’t it…”

“What are you-”

“Buck, don’t….” Bucky sighed. He sat on the edge of the bed, pulling Steve into a hug. 

“I’m so sorry baby,” Steve just cried quietly, sniffling into Bucky’s shirt. Peter had woken up too, walking over on the other side of the bed. Steve saw and let his grip slack off Bucky but still held onto his arm. Peter practically fell into Steve, both crying. “I’ll go grab Bruce,” Steve nodded as Bucky stood, Peter now lying next to him on the bed. Bucky barely left the room when he ran into the man himself. 

“Hey, I got the alert when he woke up, how..”

“With Pete right now. He’s still a bit out of it, but...he knows.”

“Ok, I can talk to him.” they both walk back in. Peter is rambling about something to Steve, the other listening happily. Both turn when Bruce and Bucky come in. Bucky goes back to his original spot, on the right side of the bed, while Bruce stood sat his feet. 

“So, we’ve cleaned and restitched your wounds. As for...your leg, we have special medication Helen and I worked on that should work with your metabolism, for pain and to help any infection that set in. The serums, that they used, have slightly affected your own, but due to its strength and how little of it they got in, it should clear out. For now, your immune system is working slower than usual. You’ll be sick for a while. We have physical therapy set up once everything clears out a bit. Stark...he talked about wanting to make a prosthetic if you wanted.” Bruce looked at Bucky, nodding, and walked out. Steve didn’t say anything, but Bucky could tell he was tense. He sat, rubbing his hand over Steve’s arm. The man seemed to notice the bandages still on his arm, even though they had lessened throughout the week. 

“What happened...and where’s..”

“It’s nothing, just...needed some repairs. And I got a bit scraped up, it’s nothing baby.” Steve doesn’t seem to hear, eyes closing as he falls back asleep. Peter sits up, pulling his knees to his chest. Neither of them says anything, letting Steve sleep.

If anyone sees Bucky’s hand onSteve'se wrist, right over his pulse, they don’t say anything. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING ON HIATUS !!
> 
> from June 27 - July 8, I will be away at a camp and I won't have phone/computer. So this may or may not be my last update until July. I'll post on twitter if I have anything planned.
> 
> <3 , can't wait to get fucked.


	36. When War Comes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> My soft little family 
> 
> -@ever_fandom on twitter-

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry this is a bit short

_ Everything is moving too fast for him to process. Grenades were going off all around him, hidden by the massive trees. He and Bucky had separated earlier to go off with the other commandos. They were supposed to be covering him, but he couldn’t get an eye on anyone. _

_ “I’ll go in and clear as many as I can, wait for my signal.” Peter was about to walk forward- wait...no, this is wrong, Peter shouldn’t be out here. Steve grabbed his arm, keeping him from moving closer. He was wearing the gear too, holding a rifle almost as big as the kid himself.  _

_ “Peter, what are you doing here?” _

_ “Just cover me while I go in, I trust you!” Whatever Steve was about to say was cut off by Peter, charging out into the open. Steve’s instincts kicked in, following him and having to take out four guys right away. He seemed to be doing fine.  _

_ There wasn’t a gunshot. _

_ There wasn’t a scream. _

_ He just barely felt the blood on the back of his neck.  _

_ He was lying there, face in the mud, blood pouring out of his back. Steve dropped his shield, not caring about protecting himself as he ran to his kid.  _

_ “H-Hey, Pete! I need you to look at me, Peter! PETER!” He didn’t look up. His eyes didn’t move, didn’t focus. Dead eyes, grey, dead eyes. Dead dead deaddeaddeaddeaddeaddead- Suddenly, someone was dragging Peter away, away from Steve’s tight grip. He screams and cries and begs them not to but he can’t move and all he can do is watch as they drag that limp body away. There were no more grenades in the background, no more fighting or screaming. Just as Peter disappeared through the trees, Bucky stepped out. He wasn’t in his gear, but in his casual clothes: sweatpants and a t-shirt, metal arm glinting in the sunlight. His eyes were red and puffy like he had already been crying. _

_ “How could you?” _

_ “Buck, I-I-I don’t-” _

_ “You killed him.” _

_ “I didn’t-” _

_ “YOU KILLED HIM!” More people were walking out behind him, the rest of the team, Peggy, all with different types of battle wounds, all screaming at him. He still couldn’t move, no matter how hard he tried. They all stopped in unison, the silence somehow worse than the barrage of comments. Bucky walked up until he was only a foot away. Leaning down, no emotion to his face, he spat in Steve's face. “I will never forgive you.”  _

_ “Buck please…” but it was too late, they were already walking back into the tree line. Steve managed to get up, trying to follow Bucky, but he suddenly dropped back down. _

_ Pleasenotmylegpleasenotmylegpleasenotmyl- people were dragging him away. Away from the pool of blood, away from his family. _

_ “Don’t...please, don’t let them take me! PLEASE! DON’T LET THEM!” _

_ “ _ Stevie, calm down!”

_ “PLEASE!”  _

 

“STEVE!” 

He doesn’t wake up in a bed. He wakes up with someone holding his arms almost behind him so he’s staring at the ceiling. They’re lying on the floor, his hospital gown the only thing blocking the cold from the tile. He realizes after a minute that it’s Bucky holding him down...he’s in the hospital room, which means he’s in the tower, which…”You’re safe Steve, you need to relax.” But Steve can't because the only thing going through his head is Peter dead and-

“P-Peter,”

“He left after you started freaking out, I sent him outside. You...had a really, tight grip on him, Steve.”

“I-Is he ok?”

“Peter’s fine, but you need to let me get you back in the bed.” Steve let Bucky pull him off the floor, carrying him back to the bed. One of the nurses tried to come in, but Bucky gave one look and she shut the door once more. Steve didn’t start crying until Bucky was laying next to him, sitting up so Steve’s head was in his lap. He was glad Bucky didn’t try to calm him down, opting to run his flesh hand through Steve’s hair. 

A few minutes later, someone knocked on the door. “It’s Peter...can I come in?” Seeing no sign of disagreement, Bucky called him in. Peter shuffled in, closing the door behind him before coming right to the edge of the bed. He stood facing Steve’s back, but he could feel the anxiety coming from the boy. 

“Steve? Are you ok?” Steve didn’t respond. Bucky did something with his free hand, and Peter walked around to the other side. Steve didn’t see his face, but he did see the hand-shaped bruise on his forearm. 

“Was that from me?” 

“It’s nothing, I shouldn’t have tried to wake you up-”

“But...it was still me…” 

“Steve, just...try to sleep,” Peter sat by his curled up feet at the edge of the bed.

“I’m fine, it’ll be gone in an hour at most. Are you ok?” 

“ ‘ve been better.” Peter was about to say something but stopped mid-sentence. Instead, he propped up his feet to sit criss-cross on the small bed. Slowly he started falling in and out of sleep. He remembers someone coming in to fix his IV’s and talk to Bucky. Eventually, he fell back into a dreamless sleep, Bucky humming an old jazz tune above him and Peter reading at his feet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for the support!!! Sadly, the end is close, but i hope you all like me enough to read my other works possibly <3


	37. Back to school

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> more uncle Tony, and a little mix of angst+fluff
> 
> -@ever_fandom on twitter-

Eventually, Peter did go back to school at the beginning of the year. It wasn’t really crazy, at least for the first week. Peter would wake up around six-thirty and eat his breakfast with Bucky and Steve in the med-wing. Bucky and Tony traded off days of dropping him off at school. Ned and MJ would meet up with him, thankfully avoiding any questions about home, and going about their day. They both noticed the lack of enthusiasm, but neither pushed. 

At home, Bucky would sit with him, making sure he did all of his homework before doing anything else. He liked going down to the lab, working on his suit. Tony had let him help work on Steve’s prosthetic. Even he was mostly working on the external design, it kept him busy and made him feel useful. 

Steve was doing better too. Sam came every night and they would talk, sometimes with Bucky. They had him standing up the day before school started. His grip on the railing was practically bending the metal, but it was one of the first times he genuinely smiled since coming back. Bucky denies crying, but Peter saw him tear up. 

It was the second week that everything went to shit. 

Peter had been eating lunch outside, leaning against a tree with Ned in front of him and MJ sitting next to him. He had one of his favorite designs out. It was supposed to look like Bucky’s arm, with a couple of changes. 

It was then that Flash and his gang decided to come over. Peter hadn’t really paid attention to them until Flash grabbed the papers from Peter.

“What’s this Parker? Another project for you’re internship?” Peter reached out for it, but Flash lifted it up high. Other students had started noticing too and a crowd was slowly forming. 

“Lay off Flash.” Usually, MJ could make him leave, but he wasn’t having it today. 

“No thanks, I think I’ll just take this and- oh, oops.” Slowly he tore the paper in half, right down the middle. Peter tried reaching out, but he had started passing it around, each person ripping until more and more parts until Flash had dropped a small pile at his feet. 

He almost remembers someone yelling his name as he punches Flash right in the face, and he feels something break under his fist. Someone pulls him away, but he didn’t plan on going for another hit. Instead, he picks up his pile of...scraps. 

It isn’t until he’s being dragged to the principles by a teacher that he realizes what he did. Flash is behind him, yelling to whoever is closest about how ruined his face is. They sit both Peter and Flash in the office.

“I’ll call both of your parents and we’ll discuss the consequences from both of you.”

“My parents might not pick up..” Peter said quietly. He could see Flash staring at him from his seat. 

“And why might that be?”

“My-...one of them got hurt recently. My dad might not be able to make it…”

“Well, I'll try before calling anyone else.” He walked away, looking like he didn't believe a single thing Peter had said. He doesn't pay attention to Flash snickering as he shifted through the paper scraps, trying to somewhat fix it. Five minutes later, the Secretary informed Flash that his dad was on the way and Peter that a family friend was on the way. 

It didn’t exactly calm Peter down. Sam was working at the VA tonight, Clint and Natasha were at a Shield meeting, Pepper was at another meeting across the world, and Bruce almost never left the Tower. That could only leave Rhodey or Tony, and he could only hope the latter wouldn’t barge in. 

When he arrived exactly seven minutes later, he was actually in a t-shirt and jeans, an old sweatshirt thrown on. He came right over to Peter, crouching in front of him. Peter didn’t want to make eye contact. 

“Barnes said you got in a fight, what happened.” Peter didn’t say anything but kept shifting his papers around. Tony looked at them, and sighed once he saw what it was. “I was upset.” He saw Flash with headphones in and relaxed. 

“So he ripped these and you decided to deck him in the face? Pete you can’t do-”

“I can’t do it because emotional distress can make my strength unpredictable, I know…”

“Then why do it in the first place?”

“I don’t know….” Tony moved into the seat next to him, pulling out his phone to send what Peter assumed to be a text to Bucky. “...how is he?”

“There was an issue this morning but-”

“Issue?”

“Just had a little trouble balancing when he woke up, he’s fine now.” Tony was quiet for a minute, watching Peter as he recreated his sketch. “I have your backups saved in Jarvis’ system.”

“Thanks…” The principal came back out once Flash’s dad arrived, an average looking man that towered over all of them. If anyone was surprised to see Stark, they only stared in silence. 

“Thank you both for coming. To put it bluntly, It seems that Mr. Parker and Mr. Thompson got into a disagreement. Mr. Parker, would you like to give me your version of events?”

Peter didn’t look up as he said, “He ripped up my paper and I punched him.”

“Um, ok. Is anything he said wrong Mr. Thompson?”

“...No.”

“Ok, well let’s get this over with. As Mr. Thompson initiated the fight but didn’t hit anyone, you will have after-school detention for two days starting tomorrow. Mr. Parker, as you threw the first and only punch, you’ll receive two days suspension starting tomorrow and after-school detention through Friday upon your return. Any arguments?” No one spoke up. A couple of kids looked at them as they exited the building. Peter followed Tony to the car, parked all the way in the back of the lot. 

“I’ll have Jarvis put your suit on lockdown when we get back.”

“What? Why!”

“You got two days suspension. After that’s over, you can have it back.”

“People could die because I’m not out there and it’s because I got a two-day suspension?!” Tony didn’t say anything, just staring at him in front of his door. He didn’t seem angry about the outburst, just...sad.

“Come on.” He said, getting in the car and waiting for Peter to hop in next to him. He did, stuffing the pieces of paper in his backpack and throwing it in the backseat. 

“This city will survive a couple days without you. It had before, and it will again. You, along with everyone else, will be fine.” He said quietly.

“...It’s the only way I’m useful right now…” Tony didn’t respond, instead, turning up the music. Peter assumed Tony was taking him right back to the Tower, but ten minutes later, they had driven right past it. “Where are we going?”

“You’re gonna cool off before I bring you back and while you do that, I’m gonna take us out for lunch.” Tony drove them all the way to a small burger bar in the middle of the city. No one seemed to notice Tony walk in, not even the waitress who got their drinks. Neither of them talked until both of their plates were gone and Tony was pulling out his card to pay. “Bucky thinks you should start seeing Sam again, or someone else if you’d like.”

“I’m fine…”

“That is the laziest excuse I’ve ever heard, and I’ve heard it before a  _ many _ of times.” Peter sulks in his seat, refusing to agree. Tony didn’t force him to, now leading the way back to the car. “You should go, or at least talk to Barnes about it. These kinds of things can’t happen again.” He nods and pulls out his phone. He doesn’t even turn it on, just flipping it in his hands. When they pull into the lot, Peter doesn’t get out of the car. Tony grabs his bag out of the back and sets it in the boy’s lap. 

“It’s better to get it over with sooner rather than later,”

“I know...thanks for taking me out for lunch.”

“No problem kid, just promise me not to give Tin foil a hard time.” Peter nodded once again and got out, but Tony stayed in the car. 

“Aren’t you coming up?”

“Nah, I told Pepper I’d go out into the world for some work. I’ll be back tonight, Later short stack.” With that, Tony drives away, pulling out of garage and back into the street. Peter takes a deep breath and walks to the elevator. Jarvis automatically brings him to the med wing. It’s empty as he makes his way to the room. At this point, it had turned more into a ‘suite’ with an extra large bed and a lot more decorations than a normal hospital room. Inside the room, Steve is sitting up, his left knee bent with a sketchpad propped against it. He smiles when Peter walks in, though it’s a drowsy, tired smile. He pats the empty spot next to him and moves to the right, careful not to rub his...bad leg on the railing. Peter sets his bag on the chair and sits next to him, accidentally bumping the drawing. Peter recognized it as his room, a mass of figures curled under the covers of the bed, but otherwise peaceful. 

“I heard what happened….when Tony messaged Bucky, he had left his phone when I told him to go shower,” Steve motions one hand over to the table. Sure enough, Bucky’s phone is sitting, face up. “What happened Pete? That’s not you,”

“I-I don’t know….I had this design for you, a-and this kid had started ripping it and I-I don’t know what happened but suddenly-...” Peter hiccuped and leaned more into Steve. The super soldier wrapped an arm around Peter, pulling him in closer and setting the sketchbook aside. 

“Relax...it’s fine. Everything’s fine now…” It took him a minute, but Peter had relaxed, listening to the steady heartbeat of Steve. “You don’t have to do those things because of me. I’ll be fine, you just worry about yourself.”

“But-”

“Nope, no worrying. Now, I think we could both use a nap, what do you say?” The lights dim automatically as Steve and Peter both quickly fall asleep, all tangled up and snoring just loud enough for Bucky to hear when he gets back from his shower.

A few pictures never hurt anyone, plus, Bucky got a new background. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sadly, the next chapter will be the end of this "tale". I'm so glad people enjoyed this and actually wanted to read it. I read every comment and I try to respond to most of them because they make my day fucking amazing even though that sounds like something a cheesy, old lady would say. I'll try to get the next chapter out soon. I've had this planned out for almost a month and I think you guys will really like the ending! <3


	38. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> just around one year later, some fluff to end this off 
> 
> -@ever_fandom on twitter- !!!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> last chapter!! enjoy

“We don’t have to go if you don’t feel well.”

“Bucky I’m fine-”

“We can just stay here for today, no one will be mad-”

“Bucky, I’m fine. One rough night will not stop me from going out, I’ll just take it easy this morning. Now, can you hand me the sleeve?” Bucky pulled out the white sleeve from their bedside drawer and handed it to Steve. Last night, he had gone to bed with a dull ache. A couple of hours later, he woke up because it was hurting him so much. Bucky made sure to give him his meds before going back to bed. Steve woke up a lot better in the morning, trying to reassure a worried Bucky that he still wanted to go out today. 

Steve slipped it on and grabbed his crutches from the wall, standing up easily. Once, Bucky had offered to carry him around the apartment, only half joking. He only does it when Steve is too out of it to notice or can’t complain, which is mostly just post-missions. 

Contrary to many’s opinions, Steve fought tooth and nail to get back to work. His physical therapy went quick and it was only two months before he was getting back into training. Peter and Tony, along with Bruce, made a multitude of prosthetics for Steve to choose from. There was even one made specifically for battle, complete with extra layers of vibranium, trackers and distress buttons, and a couple hidden weapons. His favorite, not surprisingly, was mostly designed by Peter. It was made the same style as Bucky’s arm, metal plates lined up and shining in the light. 

Now Steve walked into the bathroom, laughing as he locked Bucky out to use the bathroom. Bucky came in once the door was unlocked, reaching for his toothbrush around the man. 

“Is Pete still here?”

“Well, he said he was leaving around eight to meet up with his friends. Hey Jarvis, what time is it?”

“It is currently nine fifty-seven and eighty-two degrees outside.”

“Thanks, Jarvis.” Steve finished up first, tossing a container of hair gel back into the cabinet and maneuvering his way around Bucky. Bucky made sure to throw on a shirt and sweatpants, tossing a pair of pinned pants to Steve, before going to the kitchen. 

Everyone else is already there, some even dressed for the day. Clint, Tony, and Bruce were all in pajamas, chugging cups of coffee at a time and mumbling to each other. Sam and Rhodey were discussing something by the stove, cooking stacks of pancakes. Natasha was the only one who was ready to go out; her hair pulled back in a bun, wearing her ‘Ace and Proud’ shirt, and grey skinny jeans. 

“Morning everyone,” Steve said, sitting on the closest stool and setting his crutches against the counter.

“I should be alive, much less awake this early in the morning…” Tony set his head against the counter. His empty mug was pushed toward the coffee machine. 

“Tony. It’s ten o’clock.”

“Time isn’t of relevance when I’m tired, ice-pop.” Steve laughs as Sam slides a plate of pancakes in front of him. Steve thanks him, grabbing the syrup from across the counter. Bucky stood behind him, wrapping his arms around his waist and leaning his chin on the man's shoulder. Every other bite, Steve would lift the fork so Bucky could take a bite. Clint would look at them in exaggerated disgust before shoving more pancakes in his mouth. There was a casual conversation going on, but neither super soldier was paying much attention.

Steve leaned away from him when Bucky planted a kiss on the back of his neck. 

“I don’t want syrup on my neck you jerk,”

“Too bad, punk.” Bucky opens his mouth and Steve reluctantly feeds him another piece. 

“So greedy…”

Bucky goes right up to Steve’s ear, dropping his voice low and whispering “Greedy as sin, doll,” right into his ear. He smirks when the other immediately goes red. Steve tries looking behind him, but Bucky already put his head back on his shoulder. No one seemed to notice anything, and Steve went back to eating angrily.

“I hate you.”

“No, you don’t.” The elevator dinged and opened, with Peter, Ned and MJ walked through. They were laughing, Peter swinging a striped bag over his shoulder. He takes a seat right next to Steve, his friends standing behind him. 

“Hello, Mr. Barnes-Rogers sirs,”

“Morning Ned,” Steve says. Bucky pokes the bag with his metal arm. “What’s that?”

“Oh, it’s my, uh- it’s a...makeup, yeah…” 

“I didn’t know we had makeup.”

“We didn’t, really. I had some but threw it out after the whole incident and I didn’t really use any but then MJ and I were messing around with it, a-and then Natasha found out so I just kinda-”

“He's doing my make up Barnes. If you'd like to join us, we'll be stealing your living room.” Bucky and Steve both shrug, the others still too tired to understand conversations. Bucky, having nothing else to do, followed them out, leaving Steve to finish his breakfast. He listened as the kids talked about how to spend the rest of their summer before senior year. He was glad that the living room was actually clean when they all walked in. Peter and Natasha sat in the middle of the floor, Peter spreading his makeup on the coffee table. Ned and MJ both sat next to Peter, so Bucky laid himself across the loveseat. 

Peter was actually...great, at makeup. He didn’t seem nervous at all, he just knew what he was doing. Neither of his friends minded, commentating every once in a while, but otherwise focused on a different conversation. Natasha seemed content to just sit there, eyes closed and agreeing to anything Peter asked. 

“Where did you learn to do makeup?” Bucky asked. Peter didn’t stop his process, using some kind of pencil to color her eyebrows. 

“May used to let me do her makeup all the time. It was just something for us to do...Ben would always watch and take pictures. Eventually, I got better at it, I’d do it for her dates. I kinda stopped but then when I was at MJ’s house and she was doing makeup so I just kinda...helped. Nat...found out, and got me a bunch of stuff and now-...yeah.” 

“Jealous?” Natasha was smirking, one eye open. 

“I….don’t know,” At that, Peter stopped, turning to Bucky. He had one of those soft smiles on his face. “I can do your makeup if you want, after I finish with Natasha?”

“...Sure?” Peter smiled and went back to his work, now humming something to himself. Ten minutes later, Natasha was standing up to stretch. Her look matched her shirt, dark and silver eyes with purple lipstick. Bucky was suddenly very self-conscious as he took her place, sitting criss-cross on the floor. Peter must've seen the look on his face as he tried to reassure him.

“I don’t have to do a lot if you don’t want, not like Natasha. Just basic stuff,”

“That’s fine….can you..do the, uh, flag thing?” He gestured toward Peter’s cheek where a small pink, purple, and blue flag was painted on. 

“Yeah, do you know which flag you want me to do?” Bucky hesitated, trying to remember the name/

“The, uh...p-pansexual? Am I saying it right?”

“Yeah, I can do that.” It was weird, for Bucky to have makeup on. He had pretty much the same skin tone as Peter, which was a little too pale. He told Bucky everything he was doing before putting it on: primer, some color corrector for under his eyes, foundation, more of the eyebrow stuff, and something he called ‘contouring and highlighting’. For the flag itself, he had a separate bag full of lipsticks. He pulled out a pink, blue, and a tube of yellow. It was small and didn’t take up his entire face, but it was big enough to see from afar. 

Peter scooched back, leaning against his friends. “What do you guys think?” Everyone was suddenly studying his face. 

“He looks great паук,”

“You look really good Mr. Barnes-Rogers!” 

“Thanks Ned, and you can call me Bucky.” Ned just nods and smiles, shoving Peter off of his leg. He starts packing away everything just as Steve comes through the elevator, now in Stark Industries sweatshirt. He flopped onto the couch, pulling Bucky’s arm so he was half laying down, his head near Steve’s. Steve took a minute to look at him, smiling at the flag.

“You look amazing Buck.”

“I always look amazing. I just look extra amazing,”

“But I think Peter did most of the work, so don’t get cocky now.” Bucky made an exaggerated sigh and slid all the way to the floor, making the others in the room laugh. 

“Are you ready for today Steve?” Peter asked.

“Ready as I’ll ever be. Nervous, excited, all that jazz…”

“You’ll be fine,” Bucky rests his own metal hand on Steve’s, tracing circles on his palm. Peter friends left after they made plans for dinner. Natasha left after messing up everyone’s hair before heading to the elevator. That left Steve on the couch, Bucky laying next to the couch, and Peter sitting on the coffee table. 

“So, when do you want to head out?”

“Well, they scheduled me to speak around one, so we can leave closer to noon, walk around a bit before. After I speak, we can do whatever. How about we all meet up for an early-ish dinner?”

“Can Ned and MJ come?” Peter asked.

“Yeah, that’s fine. We’ll have to see what the others wanna do, but for now, I’d say we’re good.”

“Hey Jarvis, what time is it?”

“It is currently eleven twenty-six Sirs.” 

“Well, I guess it’s time to get ready,” Bucky said, pushing himself off the floor. He helped Steve up, handing him his crutches, before ushering both towards the bedrooms. Peter disappeared through his door, dragging his bag behind him. Steve threw himself onto the bed, not even bothering to land on his back.

“You good there Stevie?”

“Mphm…..” he turned his head out from the pillow, eyes closed, “Yeah, can you hand me three?” Under their bed was where they kept the prosthetics, all correlating with a number system. Number three was what Tony deemed his ‘comfort leg’. The socket was extra padded, unlike his ‘work leg’. All of them worked fine, but when Steve had gotten back into the swing of things, Tony insisted on giving him a cane. It was dark wood and had a glossy look to it. Steve was surprised there were no Captain America attachments. Tony insisted on him using it whenever they had a press conference. It was lying next to the leg, but Bucky let it be. 

It took him less than a minute to put in on, standing up to make sure it was connected properly. Bucky watched in the corner of his eye as Steve smiled, walking over the closet.  

“Messer. Barnes-Rogers, Mr. Parker and Sir left a gift. It’s hidden behind the pants.” Bucky, though confused, felt around behind the stack of jeans until he felt the box. 

“How did we not notice this?” Steve mumbled. Bucky only shrugged, tossing the rather large box onto the bed. The wrapping paper was decorated in a cartoon Iron-man design. He ripped it off and opened the lid, revealing two sweatshirts, each with a card on top. 

The card with ‘Steve’ written on it was white hoodie covered in tiny rainbow flags. The other was a sweater, three massive stripes, all the colors on Bucky’s cheek. Unlike the bright colors on his face, it was very muted and pale, something Peter would probably call pastel. 

“Wow, these are actually nice,” Steve grabbed his, pulling it up to his chest. 

“I really expected something worse.”

“Yeah, no shit Buck, though it was probably Pete that helped with the decision making.” Steve pulled it over his shirt, stuffing his hands into the pocket. “Well, how do I look?”

“You look like the outside finally matches the inside- Hey!” Steve punches his shoulder and sits back on the bed, laughing. Bucky puts his on slowly, making sure nothing catches on his arm. Once it’s on, he pulls the tags over it, the ring softly hitting the dog tags. He lifted his arms up, spinning in a circle. “Good?”

“Great, Buck.”  

 

\---------------

 

“Back when I was younger, it was considered crime to be anything other than society's version of perfect. It was normal to see people getting beat up in broad daylight with no one helping. I was fortunate enough that my mother accepted me and my boyfriend during those days. It was horrible back in those days. When I woke up in this generation, one of my favorite things was how much more accepting people were, but after a while of actually looking into it...the best way I can describe it is how my husband phrases it: it’s bullshit.

After seventy years of growing and learning, more people coming out and fewer people being afraid, there’s still a large group that is trying to suppress the LGBT community, and it’s sad to see. When people are still getting hurt, getting  _ killed _ , just because of someone’s sexuality or preferred gender? It’s horrific...But then there’s this, this generation that’s just saying ‘fuck you’ to that old ways and helping each other through thick and thin. That’s...it’s amazing! Now, there’s a mass of people who are willing to accept anyone and help people out of bad situations. It’s like a safety net for anyone and everyone.” people were cheering and clapping, just quiet enough to be able to hear Steve. Bucky and Peter were standing on the left side of the stage, Bucky’s arm wrapped around Peter’s shoulder. 

“I know how much progress there has been, and I know how much more there’s to come, but I will not give up. I will not stop until everyone is safe! I will not stop until we are  _ all _ able to be free! And I will not  _ stop _ , until every single person from this point on is able to be themselves without hate!” A roar spread throughout the crowd, people jumping and cheering. Steve waved to people as he walked over, following Bucky and Peter off the stage. The gathered behind one of the massive banners. All the tension built up in Steve’s frame immediately rolled off of him, leaning into Bucky. He hugged the blond, letting his head rest on Steve’s shoulder. Peter hugged both on Bucky’s right, one arm around Steve’s back and the other around Bucky’s. 

“You did amazing Pops,” Bucky could feel Steve smile. Peter only used Pops if he was feeling particularly happy, or just emotional in general. 

“Thanks, Pete,” 

“You’re welcome…” The kid looked up at Bucky from his where his head was tucked in, smiling his dopey kid smile, mouthing “Love you, dad,” before tucking his head back into the mass of sweatshirts. 

Bucky’s heart melts...just a little.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> NOAENSCVONESDRNFCONMNTG   
> IT'S OVER!!!!!!!  
> Thank you so much for reading this and actually liking it and supporting it! I fucking love reading the comments and people reacting to this because I loved writing this. follow me on twitter to see what ill be doing next (( i also have a text post stucky going on my twitter )) and feel free to message me about anything, literally...i will probably respond to anything, we love new friends! 
> 
> ((also, sorry for all the suffering this book turned out to be, i honest to /god/ did not plan to do all the angsty shit. it was just supposed to be Bucky and Peter fam fluff. the only thing i had planned was this chapter)) (((THE LEG WAS A 3 AM DECISION I SWEAR AND IM SORRY NOT SORRY)))
> 
> thank you and i hope you enjoyed this suffering <3


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